THE  STORY  OF 

CHAUTAUQUA 


HURLBUT 


Lewis  Miller  (1878) 


The 

Story  of  Chautauqua 


By 
Jesse  Lyman  Hurlbut,  D.D. 

Author  of  "The  Story  of  the  Bible,"  "Teacher  Training 
LeMons  for  the  Sunday  School."  etc. 


With  50  Illustrations 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  and  London 

Gbe  •fcntcfcerbocfcer  press 

1921 


Copyright,  1921 

by 
Jesse  L.  Hurlbut 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


This  book  is  dedicated  to  the  honoured  memory 
of  the  two  Founders  of  Chautauqua 

Xewfs  /BMller 

and 

Jobn  Depl  IDtncent 


45893; 


PREFACE 

WHY  AND  WHEREFORE 

AN  ancient  writer — I  forget  his  name — declared 
that  in  one  of  the  city-states  of  Greece  there  was 
the  rule  that  when  any  citizen  proposed  a  new  law 
or  the  repeal  of  an  old  one,  he  should  come  to  the 
popular  assembly  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  and 
if  his  proposition  failed  of  adoption,  he  was  to  be 
immediately  hanged.  It  is  said  that  amendments 
to  the  constitution  of  that  state  were  rarely  pre- 
sented, and  the  people  managed  to  live  under  a 
few  time-honored  laws.  It  is  possible  that  some 
such  drastic  treatment  may  yet  be  meted  out  to 
authors — and  perhaps  to  publishers — as  a  last 
resort  to  check  the  flood  of  useless  literature.  To 
anticipate  this  impending  constitutional  amend- 
ment, it  is  incumbent  upon  every  writer  of  a  book 
to  show  that  his  work  is  needed  by  the  world,  and 
this  I  propose  to  do  in  these  prefatory  pages. 

Is  Chautauqua  great  enough,  original  enough, 
sufficiently  beneficial  to  the  world  to  have  its  his- 
tory written?  We  will  not  accept  the  votes  of  the 


Vll 


viii  PREFACE 

thousands  who  beside  the  lake,  in  the  Hall  of 
Philosophy,  or  under  the  roof  of  the  amphitheater, 
have  been  inoculated  with  the  Chautauqua  spirit. 
We  will  seek  for  the  testimony  of  sane,  intelligent, 
and  thoughtful  people,  and  we  will  be  guided  in  our 
conclusions  by  their  opinions.  Let  us  listen  to  the 
words  of  the  wise  and  then  determine  whether 
a  book  about  Chautauqua  should  be  published. 
We  have  the  utterances  by  word  of  mouth  and  the 
written  statements  of  public  men,  governors, 
senators,  presidents;  of  educators,  professors,  and 
college  presidents;  of  preachers  and  ecclesiastics 
in  many  churches;  of  speakers  upon  many  plat- 
forms; of  authors  whose  works  are  read  every- 
where; and  we  present  their  testimonials  as  a  suffi- 
cient warrant  for  the  preparation  and  publication 
of  The  Story  of  Chautauqua. 

The  Hon.  George  W.  Atkinson,  Governor  of 
West  Virginia,  visited  Chautauqua  in  1899,  and 
in  his  Recognition  Day  address  on  "Modern  Edu- 
cational Requirements"  spoke  as  follows: 

It  (Chautauqua)  is  the  common  people's  College, 
and  its  courses  of  instruction  are  so  admirably  ar- 
ranged that  it  somehow  induces  the  toiling  millions  to 
voluntarily  grapple  with  all  subjects  and  with  all 
knowledge. 

My  Chautauqua  courses  have  taught  me  that  what 
we  need  most  is  only  so  much  knowledge  as  we  can 


PREFACE 


IX 


assimilate  and  organize  into  a  basis  for  action;  for  if 
more  be  given  it  may  become  injurious. 

Chautauqua  is  doing  more  to  nourish  the  intellects 
of  the  masses  than  any  other  system  of  education 
extant;  except  the  public  schools  of  the  common 
country. 

Here  is  the  testimony  of  ex-Governor  Adolph  O. 
Eberhardt  of  Minnesota : 

If  I  had  the  choice  of  being  the  founder  of  any  great 
movement  the  world  has  ever  known,  I  would  choose 
the  Chautauqua  movement. 

The  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  speaker  upon  many  Chautauqua 
platforms,  wrote: 

The  privilege  and  opportunity  of  addressing  from 
one  to  seven  or  eight  thousand  of  his  fellow  Americans 
in  the  Chautauqua  frame  of  mind,  in  the  mood  which 
almost  as  clearly  asserts  itself  under  the  tent  or  amphi- 
theater as  does  reverence  under  the  "dim,  religious 
light" — this  privilege  and  this  opportunity  is  one  of 
the  greatest  that  any  patriotic  American  could  ask. 
It  makes  of  him,  if  he  knows  it  and  can  rise  to  its  re- 
quirements, a  potent  human  factor  in  molding  the 
mind  of  the  nation. 

Viscount  James  Bryce,  Ambassador  of  Great 
Britain  to  the  United  States,  and  author  of  The 
American  Commonwealth,  the  most  illuminating 


x  PREFACE 

work  ever  written  on  the  American  system  of 
government,  said,  while  visiting  Chautanqua: 

I  do  not  think  any  country  in  the  world  but  America 
could  produce  such  gatherings  as  Chautauqua's. 

Six  presidents  of  the  United  States  have  thought 
it  worth  while  to  visit  Chautauqua,  either  before, 
or  during,  or  after  their  term  of  office.  These  were 
Grant,  Hayes,  Garfield,  McKinley,  Roosevelt,  and 
Taft.  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  at  Chautauqua 
four  times.  He  said  on  his  last  visit,  in  1905, 
"Chautauqua  is  the  most  American  thing  in 
America ' ' ;  and  also : 

This  Chautauqua  has  made  the  name  Chautauqua 
a  name  of  a  multitude  of  gatherings  all  over  the  Union, 
and  there  is  probably  no  other  educational  influence 
in  the  country  quite  so  fraught  with  hope  for  the  future 
of  the  nation  as  this  and  the  movement  of  which  it  is 
the  archtype. 

Let  us  see  what  some  journalists  and  writers 
have  said  about  Chautauqua.  Here  is  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  editor  of  The  Outlook,  and  a 
leader  of  thought  in  our  time : 

Chautauqua  has  inspired  the  habit  of  reading  with  a 
purpose.  It  is  really  not  much  use  to  read,  except  as 
an  occasional  recreation,  unless  the  reading  inspires 
one  to  think  his  own  thoughts,  or  at  least  make  the 
writer's  thoughts  his  own.  Reading  without  reflection* 


PREFACE  xi 

like  eating  without  digestion,  produces  dyspepsia. 
The  influence  and  guidance  of  Chautauqua  will  long 
be  needed  in  America. 

The  religious  influence  of  Chautauqua  has  been  not 
less  valuable.  Chautauqua  has  met  the  restless  ques- 
tioning of  the  age  in  the  only  way  in  which  it  can  be 
successfully  met,  by  converting  it  into  a  serious  seeking 
for  rest  in  truth. 

Dr.  Edwin  E.  Slosson,  formerly  professor  in 
Columbia  University,  now  literary  editor  of  the 
Independent,  wrote  in  that  paper: 

If  I  were  a  cartoonist,  I  should  symbolize  Chautau- 
qua by  a  tall  Greek  goddess,  a  sylvan  goddess  with 
leaves  in  her  hair — not  vine  leaves,  but  oak,  and  tear- 
ing open  the  bars  of  a  cage  wherein  had  been  con- 
fined a  bird,  say  an  owl,  labeled  "Learning."  For 
that  is  what  Chautauqua  has  done  for  the  world — it 
has  let  learning  loose. 

From  the  American  Review  of  Reviews,  July, 
1914: 

The  president  of  a  large  technical  school  is  quoted 
as  having  said  that  ten  per  cent,  of  the  students  in  the 
institution  over  which  he  presides  owe  their  presence 
to  Chautauqua  influence.  A  talk  on  civic  beauty  or 
sanitation  by  an  expert  from  the  Chautauqua  platform 
often  results  in  bringing  these  matters  to  local  atten- 
tion for  the  first  time. 

Here  is  an  extract  from  The  World  To-day: 


xii  PREFACE 

Old-time  politics  is  dead  in  the  States  of  the  Middle 
West.  The  torchlight  parade,  the  gasoline  lamps,  and 
the  street  orator  draw  but  little  attention.  The 
' '  Republican  Rally ' '  in  the  court-house  and  the ' '  Demo- 
cratic Barbecue"  in  the  grove  have  lost  their  potency. 
People  turn  to  the  Chautauquas  to  be  taught  politics 
along  with  domestic  science,  hygiene,  and  child- 
welfare. 

Mr.  John  Graham  Brooks,  lecturer  on  historical, 
political,  and  social  subjects,  author  of  works 
widely  circulated  and  highly  esteemed,  has  given 
courses  of  lectures  at  Chautauqua,  and  has  ex- 
pressed his  estimate  in  these  words : 

After  close  observation  of  the  work  at  Chautauqua, 
and  at  other  points  in  the  country  where  its  affiliated 
work  goes  on,  I  can  say  with  confidence  that  it  is 
among  the  most  enlightening  of  our  educational  agen- 
cies in  the  United  States. 

Dr.  A.  V.  V.  Raymond,  while  President  of  Union 
College  in  New  York  State,  gave  this  testimony : 

Chautauqua  has  its  own  place  in  the  educational 
world,  a  place  as  honorable  as  it  is  distinctive;  and 
those  of  us  who  are  laboring  in  other  fields,  by  other 
methods,  have  only  admiration  and  praise  for  the 
great  work  which  has  made  Chautauqua  in  the  best 
sense  a  household  word  throughout  the  land. 

Mr.  Edward  Howard  Griggs,  who  is  in  greater 
demand  than  almost  any  other  lecturer  on  literary 


PREFACE 


Xlll 


and  historical  themes,  in  his  Recognition  Day 
address,  in  1904,  on  "Culture  Through  Vocation," 
said  as  follows : 

The  Chautauqua  movement  as  conceived  by  its 
leaders  is  a  great  movement  for  cultivating  an  avoca- 
tion apart  from  the  main  business  of  life,  not  only 
giving  larger  vision,  better  intellectual  training,  but 
giving  more  earnest  desire  and  greater  ability  to  serve 
and  grow  through  the  vocation. 

This  from  Dr.  William  T.  Harris,  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education : 

Think  of  one  hundred  thousand  persons  of  mature 
age  following  up  a  well-selected  course  of  reading  for 
four  years  in  science  and  literature,  kindling  their 
torches  at  a  central  flame!  Think  of  the  millions  of 
friends  and  neighbors  of  this  hundred  thousand  made 
to  hear  of  the  new  ideas  and  of  the  inspirations  that 
result  to  the  workers ! 

It  is  a  part  of  the  great  missionary  movement  that 
began  with  Christianity  and  moves  onward  with  Chris- 
tian civilization. 

I  congratulate  all  members  of  Chautauqua  Reading 
Circles  on  their  connection  with  this  great  movement 
which  has  begun  under  such  favorable  auspices  and 
has  spread  so  widely,  is  already  world-historical,  and  is 
destined  to  unfold  so  many  new  phases. 

Prof.  Albert  S.  Cook,  of  Yale  University,  wrote 
in  The  Forum: 


xiv  PREFACE 

As  nearly  as  I  can  formulate  it,  the  Chautauqua 
Idea  is  something  like  this:  A  fraternal,  enthusiastic, 
methodical,  and  sustained  attempt  to  elevate,  enrich, 
and  inspire  the  individual  life  in  its  entirety,  by  an 
appeal  to  the  curiosity,  hopefulness,  and  ambition  of 
those  who  would  otherwise  be  debarred  from  the 
greatest  opportunities  of  culture  and  spiritual  advance- 
ment. To  this  end,  all  uplifting  and  stimulating 
forces,  whether  secular  or  religious,  are  made  to  con- 
spire in  their  impact  upon  the  person  whose  weal  is 
sought.  .  .  .  Can  we  wonder  that  Chautauqua  is  a 
sacred  and  blessed  name  to  multitudes  of  Americans  ? 

The  late  Principal  A.  M.  Fairbairn,  of  Mansfield 
College,  Oxford,  foremost  among  the  thinkers  of 
the  last  generation,  gave  many  lectures  at  Chau- 
tauqua, and  expressed  himself  thus : 

The  C.  L.  S.  C.  movement  seems  to  me  the  most 
admirable  and  efficient  organization  for  the  direction 
of  reading,  and  in  the  best  sense  for  popular  instruc- 
tion. To  direct  the  reading  for  a  period  of  years  for  so 
many  thousands  is  to  affect  not  only  their  present  cul- 
ture, but  to  increase  their  intellectual  activity  for  the 
period  of  their  natural  lives,  and  thus,  among  other 
things,  greatly  to  add  to  the  range  of  their  enjoyment. 
It  appears  to  me  that  a  system  which  can  create  such 
excellent  results  merits  the  most  cordial  praise  from  all 
lovers  of  men. 

Colonel  Francis  W.  Parker,  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  first  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  and  later  at 


PREFACE  xv 

Chicago,  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  the  land, 
gave  this  testimony,  after  his  visit  to  Chautauqua: 

The  New  York  Chautauqua — father  and  mother  of 
all  the  other  Chautauquas  in  the  country — is  one  of  the 
great  institutions  founded  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
It  is  essentially  a  school  for  the  people. 

Prof.  Hjalmar  H.  Boyesen,  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, wrote: 

Nowhere  else  have  I  had  such  a  vivid  sense  of  con- 
tact with  what  is  really  and  truly  American.  The 
national  physiognomy  was  defined  to  me  as  never 
before;  and  I  saw  that  it  was  not  only  instinct  with 
intelligence,  earnestness,  and  indefatigable  aspiration, 
but  that  it  revealed  a  strong  affinity  for  all  that  makes 
for  righteousness  and  the  elevation  of  the  race.  The 
confident  optimism  regarding  the  future  which  this 
discovery  fostered  was  not  the  least  boon  I  carried 
away  with  me  from  Chautauqua. 

Mrs.  Alice  Freeman  Palmer,  President  of  Welles- 
ley  College,  expressed  this  opinion  in  a  lecture  at 
Chautauqua : 

I  could  say  nothing  better  than  to  say  over  and  over 
again  the  great  truths  Chautauqua  has  taught  to 
everyone,  that  if  you  have  a  rounded,  completed  edu- 
cation you  have  put  yourselves  in  relation  with  all  the 
past,  with  all  the  great  life  of  the  present;  you  have 
reached  on  to  the  infinite  hope  of  the  future. 

I  venture  to  say  there  is  no  man  or  woman  educating 


xvi  PREFACE 

himself  or  herself  through  Chautauqua  who  will  not 
feel  more  and  more  the  opportunity  of  the  present 
moment  in  a  present  world. 

The  character  of  Chautauqua 's  training  has  been 
that  she  has  made  us  wiser  than  we  were  about  things 
that  last. 

Rev.  Charles  M.  Sheldon,  author  of  In  His  Steps, 
a  story  of  which  three  million  copies  were  sold, 
said: 

During  the  past  two  years  I  have  met  nearly  a 
million  people  from  the  platform,  and  no  audiences 
have  impressed  me  as  have  the  Chautauqua  people  for 
earnestness,  deep  purpose,  and  an  honest  desire  to 
face  and  work  out  the  great  issues  of  American  life. 

This  is  from  the  Rev.  Robert  Stuart  MacArthur, 
the  eminent  Baptist  preacher : 

I  regard  the  Chautauqua  Idea  as  one  of  the  most 
important  ideas  of  the  hour.  This  idea,  when  properly 
utilized,  gives  us  a  "college  at  home."  It  is  a  genuine 
inspiration  toward  culture,  patriotism,  and  religion. 
The  general  adoption  of  this  course  for  a  generation 
would  give  us  a  new  America  in  all  that  is  noblest  in 
culture  and  character. 

Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  of  Boston,  Chaplain 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  in  his  Tarry  At  Home 
Travels,  wrote: 

If  you  have  not  spent  a  week  at  Chautauqua,  you 
do  not  know  your  own  country.  There,  and  in  no 


PREFACE  xvii 

other  place  known  to  me,  do  you  meet  Baddeck  and 
Newfoundland  and  Florida  and  Tiajuara  at  the  same 
table;  and  there  you  are  of  one  heart  and  one  soul  with 
the  forty  thousand  people  who  will  drift  in  and  out — 
people  all  of  them  who  believe  in  God  and  their 
country. 

More  than  a  generation  ago,  the  name  of  Joseph 
Cook  was  known  throughout  the  continent  as  a 
thinker,  a  writer,  and  a  lecturer.  This  is  what  he 
wrote  of  Chautauqua : 

I  keep  Chautauqua  in  a  fireside  nook  of  my  inmost 
affections  and  prayers.  God  bless  the  Literary  and 
Scientific  Circle,  which  is  so  marvelously  successful 
already  in  spreading  itself  as  a  young  vine  over  the 
trellis-work  of  many  lands!  What  rich  clusters  may 
ultimately  hang  on  its  cosmopolitan  branches!  It  is 
the  glory  of  America  that  it  believes  that  all  that  any- 
body knows  everybody  should  know. 

Phillips  Brooks,  perhaps  the  greatest  of  Ameri- 
can preachers,  spoke  as  follows  in  a  lecture  on 
"Literature  and  Life": 

May  we  not  believe — if  the  students  of  Chautauqua 
be  indeed  what  we  have  every  right  to  expect  that  they 
will  be,  men  and  women  thoroughly  and  healthily  alive 
through  their  perpetual  contact  with  the  facts  of  life — 
that  when  they  take  the  books  which  have  the  knowl- 
edge in  them,  like  pure  water  in  silver  urns,  though 
they  will  not  drink  as  deeply,  they  will  drink  more 
healthily  than  many  of  those  who  in  the  deader  and 


xviii  PREFACE 

more  artificial  life  of  college  halls  bring  no  such  eager 
vitality  to  give  value  to  their  draught?  If  I  under- 
stand Chautauqua,  this  is  what  it  means:  It  finds  its 
value  in  the  vitality  of  its  students.  .  .  .  It  summons 
those  who  are  alive  with  true  human  hunger  to  come 
and  learn  of  that  great  world  of  knowledge  of  which  he 
who  knows  the  most  knows  such  a  very  little,  and  feels 
more  and  more,  with  every  increase  of  his  knowledge, 
how  very  little  it  is  that  he  knows. 

Julia  Ward  Howe,  author  of  the  song  beginning 
"Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory,"  and  honored 
throughout  the  land  as  one  of  the  greatest  among 
the  women  of  America,  wrote  as  follows : 

I  am  obliged  for  your  kind  invitation  to  be  present 
at  the  celebration  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  Chautauqua  Assembly.  As  I  cannot 
well  allow  myself  this  pleasure,  I  send  you  my  hearty 
congratulations  in  view  of  the  honorable  record  of  your 
association.  May  its  good  work  long  continue,  even 
until  its  leaven  shall  leaven  the  whole  body  of  our 
society. 

The  following  letter  was  received  by  Dr.  Vincent 
from  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  older 
poets: 

April  29,  1882. 

J.  H.  VINCENT,  D.D., 

DEAR  FRIEND  :  I  have  been  watching  the  progress 
of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle  in- 
augurated by  thyself,  and  take  some  blame  to  myself 
for  not  sooner  expressing  my  satisfaction  in  regard  to 


PREFACE  xix 

its  objects  and  working  thus  far.  I  wish  it  abundant 
success,  and  that  its  circles,  like  those  from  the  agi- 
tated center  of  the  Lake,  may  widen  out,  until  our 
entire  country  shall  feel  their  beneficent  influences. 
I  am  very  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

After  these  endorsements,  we  may  confidently 
affirm  that  a  book  on  Chautauqua,  its  story,  its 
principles,  and  its  influence  in  the  world,  is  war- 
ranted. 

And  now,  a  few  words  of  explanation  as  to  this 
particular  book.  The  tendency  in  preparing  such 
a  work  is  to  make  it  documentary,  the  recital  of 
programs,  speakers,  and  subjects.  In  order  to 
lighten  up  the  pages,  I  have  sought  to  tell  the 
story  of  small  things  as  well  as  great,  the  witty  as 
well  as  the  wise  words  spoken,  the  record  of  by- 
play and  repartee  upon  the  platform,  in  those  days 
when  Chautauqua  speakers  were  a  fraternity.  In 
fact,  the  title  by  which  the  body  of  workers  was 
known  among  its  members  was  "the  Gang." 
Some  of  these  stories  are  worth  preserving,  and  I 
have  tried  to  recall  and  retain  them  in  these  pages. 

JESSE  LYMAN  HURLBUT. 

Feb.  1, 1921. 


CONTENTS 

PACK 

PREFACE vii 

CHAPTER 

I. — THE  PLACE 3 

II. — THE  FOUNDERS       .         .         .         .11 

III. — SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES        .         .  27 

IV. — THE  BEGINNINGS    ....  38 

V. — THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT      .         .  63 

VI. — THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  .  72 

VII. — A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES      .  93 

VIII. — THE  CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE  116 

IX.— CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR  .         .  141 

X. — THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES    .         .  160 

XL — HOTELS,  HEADQUARTERS,  AND  HAND- 
SHAKING (1880)    ....  172 

XII. — DEMOCRACY   AND    ARISTOCRACY    AT 

CHAUTAUQUA  (1881)    .         .         .  187 

XIIL— THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY  (1882)  196 

XIV.— SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C. 

(1883,  1884)                 ...  209 


xxii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV. — THE   CHAPLAIN'S    LEG  AND   OTHER 

TRUE  TALES  (1885-1888)     .         .     224 

XVI. — A   NEW    LEAF   IN    LUKE'S    GOSPEL 

(1889-1892)         .         .         .         .239 

XVII. — CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA   (1893- 

1896)  .  .     253 

XVIII. — ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY 

(1897-1900)  .  .271 

XIX. — OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY  (1901- 

1904)  •  .     283 

XX. — PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAU- 
QUA (1905-1908)  .         .         .295 

XXI. — THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST   (1909- 

1912) 308 

XXII. — WAR    CLOUDS    AND    WAR     DRUMS 

(1913-1916)          .  .     321 

XXIII. — WAR   AND    ITS    AFTERMATH    (1917- 

1920)  .  .     338 

XXIV. — CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  .     361 

XXV. — YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  OF  CHAUTAU- 
QUA   .  ...     385 

APPENDIX 395 

INDEX 420 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FAGB 


LEWIS  MILLER     .         .         .   Facing  title-page 

JOHN  H.  VINCENT 4 

STEAMER  IN  THE  OUTLET      ....  8 

OLD  BUSINESS  BLOCK 16 

OLD  AMPHITHEATER 24 

OLD  AUDITORIUM 24 

OLD  GUEST  HOUSE  "THE  ARK"  ...  32 

OLD  CHILDREN'S  TEMPLE                        .         .  32 

LEWIS  MILLER  COTTAGE       ....  40 

BISHOP  VINCENT'S  TENT        ....  40 

OLD  STEAMER  "JAMESTOWN"        ...  50 

ORIENTAL  HOUSE 50 

PALESTINE  PARK 60 

TENT  LIFE 60 

SPOUTING  TREE 70 

RUSTIC  BRIDGE 76 

AMPHITHEATER  AUDIENCE      .         .  .84 

OLD  PALACE  HOTEL,  ETC.      ....  92 
OLD  HALL  OF  PHILOSOPHY    .         .         .         .100 

THE  GOLDEN  GATE 100 

XXI 11 


xxiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FAGS 


FLOWER  GIRLS  (2  pictures)    .         .         .         .116 

PIONEER  HALL 122 

OLD  COLLEGE  BUILDING  ....  122 
Q.L.S.C.  ALUMNI  HALL  .  .  .  .130 
CHAUTAUQUA  BOOK  STORE  .  .  .  .140 
HALL  OF  THE  CHRIST  .  .  .  .  .150 
HALL  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  ENTRANCE  .  .  .150 
CONGREGATIONAL  HOUSE  .  .  .  .160 

FENTON  MEMORIAL 160 

BAPTIST  HEADQUARTERS  AND  MISSION  HOUSE  170 
PRESBYTERIAN  HEADQUARTERS  AND  MISSION 

HOUSE 170 

METHODIST  HEADQUARTERS  .  .  .  .180 
DISCIPLES  HEADQUARTERS  .  .  .  .180 
UNITARIAN  HEADQUARTERS  .  .  .  .190 

EPISCOPAL  CHAPEL 190 

LUTHERAN  HEADQUARTERS  ....  200 
UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHAPEL  .  .  .  200 

SOUTH  RAVINE 220 

MUSCALLONGE 22O 

JACOB  BOLIN  GYMNASIUM      .        .  .    220 

ATHLETIC  CLUB 230 

BOYS'  CLUB  HEADED  FOR  CAMP  .  .  .  230 
WOMAN'S  CLUB  HOUSE  ....  240 
RUSTIC  BRIDGE ,  240 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xxv 


PACK 


POST  OFFICE  BUILDING         ....  250 

BUSINESS  AND  ADMINISTRATION      .         .         .  250 

GOLF  COURSE 260 

SHERWOOD  MEMORIAL  ...  .  260 

TRACTION  STATION 260 

ARTS  AND  CRAFTS  BUILDING          .         .         .  270 

MILLER  BELL  TOWER 270 

SOUTH  GYMNASIUM 280 

A  CORNER  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND    .         .        .  290 


The  Story  of  Chautauqua 


The  Story  of  Chautauqua 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   PLACE 

JOHN  HEYL  VINCENT— a  name  that  spells  Chau- 
tauqua to  millions — said :  "Chautauqua  is  a  place, 
an  idea,  and  a  force.1'  Let  us  first  of  all  look  at  the 
place,  from  which  an  idea  went  forth  with  a  living 
force  into  the  world. 

The  State  of  New  York,  exclusive  of  Long  Island, 
is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  gigantic  foot,  the  heel 
being  at  Manhattan  Island,  the  crown  at  the  St. 
Lawrence  River,  and  the  toe  at  the  point  where 
Pennsylvania  touches  upon  Lake  Erie.  Near  this 
toe  of  New  York  lies  Lake  Chautauqua.  It  is 
eighteen  miles  long  besides  the  romantic  outlet  of 
three  miles,  winding  its  way  through  forest  prime- 
val, and  flowing  into  a  shallow  stream,  the  Chada- 
koin  River,  thence  in  succession  into  the  Allegheny, 
the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  and  finally  resting  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  As  we  look  at  it 
upon  the  map,  or  sail  upon  it  in  the  steamer,  we 

3 


4         THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

perceive  that  it  is  about  three  miles  across  at  its 
widest  points,  and  moreover  that  it  is  in  reality  two 
lakes  connected  by  a  narrower  channel,  almost 
separated  by  two  or  three  peninsulas.  The  earliest 
extant  map  of  the  lake,  made  by  the  way  for 
General  Washington  soon  after  the  Revolution 
(now  in  the  Congressional  Library  at  Washington), 
represents  two  separate  lakes  with  a  narrow  stream 
between  them.  The  lake  receives  no  rivers  or 
large  streams.  It  is  fed  by  springs  beneath,  and 
by  a  few  brooks  flowing  into  it.  Consequently  its 
water  is  remarkably  pure,  since  none  of  the  sur- 
rounding settlements  are  permitted  to  send  their 
sewage  into  it. 

The  surface  of  Lake  Chautauqua  is  1350  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean ;  said  to  be  the  highest 
navigable  water  in  the  United  States.  This  is  not 
strictly  correct,  for  Lake  Tahoe  on  the  boundary 
between  Nevada  and  California  is  more  than  6000 
feet  above  sea-level.  But  Tahoe  is  navigated  only 
by  motor-boats  and  small  steamers;  while  Lake 
Chautauqua,  having  a  considerable  town,  Mayville, 
at  its  northern  end,  Jamestown,  a  flourishing  city 
at  its  outlet,  and  its  shores  fringed  with  villages, 
bears  upon  its  bosom  many  sizable  steam- vessels. 

It  is  remarkable  that  while  Lake  Erie  falls  into 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  empties  into  the  Atlantic  at 


John  H.  Vincent  (1876) 


THE  PLACE  5 

iceberg-mantled  Labrador  and  Newfoundland, 
Lake  Chautauqua  only  seven  miles  distant,  and 
of  more  than  seven  hundred  feet  higher  altitude, 
finds  its  resting  place  in  the  warm  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Between  these  two  lakes  is  the  watershed  for  this 
part  of  the  continent.  An  old  barn  is  pointed  out, 
five  miles  from  Lake  Chautauqua,  whereof  it  is 
said  that  the  rain  falling  on  one  side  of  its  roof  runs 
into  Lake  Erie  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  while  the 
drops  on  the  other  side  through  a  pebbly  brook 
find  their  way  by  Lake  Chautauqua  into  the 
Mississippi. 

Nobody  knows,  or  will  ever  know,  how  this  lake 
got  its  smooth-sounding  Indian  name.  Some  tell 
us  that  the  word  means  "the  place  of  mists"; 
others,  "the  place  high  up";  still  others  that  its 
form,  two  lakes  with  a  passage  between,  gave  it  the 
name,  "a  bag  tied  in  the  middle, "  or  "two  mocca- 
sins tied  together."  Mr.  Obed  Edson  of  Chautau- 
qua County,  who  made  a  thorough  search  among 
old  records  and  traditions,  which  he  embodied  in  a 
series  of  articles  in  The  Chautauquan  in  1911-12, 
gives  the  following  as  a  possible  origin.  A  party  of 
Seneca  Indians  were  fishing  in  the  lake  and  caught 
a  large  muskallonge.  They  laid  it  in  their  canoe, 
and  going  ashore  carried  the  canoe  over  the  well- 
known  portage  to  Lake  Erie.  To  their  surprise, 


6         THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

they  found  the  big  fish  still  alive,  for  it  leaped  from 
the  boat  into  the  water,  and  escaped.  Up  to  that 
time,  it  is  said,  no  muskallonge  had  ever  been 
caught  in  that  lake;  but  the  eggs  in  that  fish  propa- 
gated their  kind,  until  it  became  abundant.  In  the 
Seneca  language,  ga-jah  means  fish;  and  ga-da-quah 
is ' '  taken  out "  or  as  some  say, ' '  leaped  out . ' '  Thus 
Chautauqua  means  "where  the  fish  was  taken 
out, "  or  "  the  place  of  the  leaping  fish."  The  name 
was  smoothed  out  by  the  French  explorers,  who 
were  the  earliest  white  men  in  this  region,  to 
"Tchadakoin,"  still  perpetuated  in  the  stream, 
Chadakoin,  connecting  the  lake  with  the  Allegheny 
River.  In  an  extant  letter  of  George  Washington, 
dated  1788,  the  lake  is  called,  "  Jadaqua." 

From  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  where  Barcelona 
now  stands,  to  the  site  of  Mayville  at  the  head  of 
Lake  Chautauqua  ran  a  well-marked  and  often- 
followed  Indian  trail,  over  which  canoes  and  furs 
were  carried,  connecting  the  Great  Lakes  with  the 
river-system  of  the  mid-continent.  If  among  the 
red-faced  warriors  of  those  unknown  ages  there  had 
arisen  a  Homer  to  sing  the  story  of  his  race,  a  rival 
to  the  Iliad  and  the  Nibelungen  might  have  made 
these  forests  famous,  for  here  was  the  border- 
land between  that  remarkable  Indian  confederacy 
of  central  New  York,  the  Iroquois  or  Five  Nations, 


THE  PLACE  7 

— after  the  addition  of  the  Tuscaroras,  the  Six 
Nations — those  fierce  Assyrians  of  the  Western 
Continent  who  barely  failed  in  founding  an  empire, 
and  their  antagonists  the  Hurons  around  Lake  Erie. 
The  two  tribes  confronting  each  other  were  the 
Eries  of  the  Huron  family  and  the  Senecas  of  the 
Iroquois ;  and  theirs  was  a  life  and  death  struggle. 
Victory  was  with  the  Senecas,  and  tradition  tells 
that  the  shores  of  Chautauqua  Lake  were  illumi- 
nated by  the  burning  alive  of  a  thousand  Erie 
prisoners. 

It  is  said  that  the  first  white  man  to  launch  his 
canoe  on  Lake  Chautauqua  was  Etienne  Brule,  a 
French  voyageur.  Five  years  before  the  landing 
of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  with  a  band  of 
friendly  Hurons  he  came  over  the  portage  from 
Lake  Erie,  and  sailed  down  from  Mayville  to 
Jamestown,  thence  through  the  Chadakoin  to  the 
Allegheny  and  the  Ohio,  showing  to  the  French 
rulers  in  Canada  that  by  this  route  lay  the  path  to 
empire  over  the  continent. 

Fifteen  years  later,  in  1630,  La  Salle,  the  indom- 
itable explorer  and  warrior,  passed  over  the  portage 
and  down  the  lake  to  the  river  below.  Fugitives 
from  the  French  settlements  in  Nova  Scotia,  the 
Acadia  of  Longfellow's  Evangeline,  also  passed  over 
the  same  trail  and  watercourses  in  their  search  for 


8         THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

a  southern  home  under  the  French  flag.  In  1749, 
Captain  Bienville  de  Celoron  led  another  company 
of  pioneers,  soldiers,  sailors,  Indians,  and  a  Jesuit 
priest  over  the  same  route,  bearing  with  him  in- 
scribed leaden  plates  to  be  buried  in  prominent 
places,  as  tokens  of  French  sovereignty  over  these 
forests  and  these  waters.  Being  a  Frenchman,  and 
therefore  perhaps  inclined  to  gayety,  he  might  have 
been  happy  if  he  could  have  foreseen  that  in  a 
coming  age,  the  most  elaborate  amusement  park 
on  the  border  of  Tchadakoin  (as  he  spelled  it  on 
his  leaden  plates)  would  hand  down  the  name  of 
Celoron  to  generations  then  unborn ! 

In  order  to  make  the  French  domination  of  this 
important  waterway  sure,  Governor  Duquesne  of 
Canada  sent  across  Lake  Erie  an  expedition,  land- 
ing at  Barcelona,  to  build  a  rough  wagon-road  over 
the  portage  to  Lake  Chautauqua.  Traces  of  this 
"old  French  road"  may  still  be  seen.  Those 
French  surveyors  and  toilers  little  dreamed  that  in 
seven  years  their  work  would  become  an  English 
thoroughfare,  and  their  empire  in  the  new  world 
would  be  exploited  by  the  descendants  of  the 
Puritan  and  Huguenot! 

During  the  American  Revolution,  the  Seneca 
tribe  of  Indians,  who  had  espoused  the  British  side, 
established  villages  at  Bemus  and  Griffiths  points 


.«.  .  .    .  ;••,«. :' 

•  •••    *«••  *•' 

•  «.•  •         ••*  • 
•«•.••••••• 


Steamer  in  the  Outlet 


THE  PLACE  9 

on  Lake  Chautauqua;  and  a  famous  British  regi- 
ment, "The  King's  Eighth,  "  still  on  the  rolls  of  the 
British  army,  passed  down  the  lake,  and  encamped 
for  a  time  beside  the  Outlet  within  the  present 
limits  of  Jamestown.  Thus  the  redskin,  the  voya- 
geur,  and  the  redcoat  in  turn  dipped  their  paddles 
into  the  placid  waters  of  Lake  Chautauqua.  They 
all  passed  away,  and  the  American  frontiersman 
took  their  place ;  he  too  was  followed  by  the  farmer 
and  the  vinedresser.  In  the  last  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  a  thriving  town,  Mayville,  was 
growing  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake ;  the  city  of 
Jamestown  was  rising  at  the  end  of  the  Outlet; 
while  here  and  there  along  the  shores  were  villages 
and  hamlets ;  roads,  such  as  they  were  before  the 
automobile  compelled  their  improvement,  threaded 
the  forests  and  fields.  A  region  situated  on  the 
direct  line  of  travel  between  the  east  and  the  west, 
and  also  having  Buffalo  on  the  north  and  Pitts- 
burgh on  the  south,  could  not  long  remain  secluded. 
Soon  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  began  to  wake 
the  echoes  of  the  surrounding  hills. 

In  its  general  direction  the  lake  lies  southeast 
and  northwest,  and  its  widest  part  is  about  three 
miles  south  of  Mayville.  Here  on  its  northwestern 
shore  a  wide  peninsula  reaches  forth  into  the  water. 
At  the  point  it  is  a  level  plain,  covered  with  stately 


io       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

trees ;  on  the  land  side  it  rises  in  a  series  of  natural 
terraces  marking  the  altitude  and  extent  of  the 
lake  in  prehistoric  ages;  for  the  present  Chautau- 
qua  Lake  is  only  the  shrunken  hollow  of  a  vaster 
body  in  the  geologic  periods.  In  the  early  'seventies 
of  the  last  century  this  peninsula  was  known  as 
Fair  Point;  but  in  a  few  years,  baptized  with  a 
new  name  CHAUTAUQUA,  it  was  destined  to  make 
the  little  lake  famous  throughout  the  world  and  to 
entitle  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of 
education. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FOUNDERS 

EVERY  idea  which  becomes  a  force  in  the  world 
has  its  primal  origin  in  a  living  man  or  woman. 
It  drops  as  a  seed  into  one  mind,  grows  up  to  fruit- 
age, and  from  one  man  is  disseminated  to  a  multi- 
tude. The  Chautauqua  Idea  became  incarnate  in 
two  men,  John  Heyl  Vincent  and  Lewis  Miller, 
and  by  their  coordinated  plans  and  labors  made 
itself  a  mighty  power.  Let  us  look  at  the  lives  of 
these  two  men,  whose  names  are  ever  one  in  the 
minds  of  intelligent  Chautauquans. 

John  Heyl  Vincent  was  of  Huguenot  ancestry. 
The  family  came  from  the  canton  of  Rochelle,  a 
city  which  was  the  Protestant  capital  of  France 
in  the  period  of  the  Reformation.  From  this 
vicinity  Levi  Vincent  (born  1676),  a  staunch  Protes- 
tant, emigrated  to  America  in  the  persecuting  days 
of  Louis  XIV.,  and  settled  first  at  New  Rochelle, 
N.  Y.,  later  removed  to  New  Jersey,  and  died  there 
in  1736.  For  several  generations  the  family  lived 
in  New  Jersey;  but  at  the  time  of  John  Heyl  Vin- 

ii 


12       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

cent's  birth  on  February  23,  1832,  his  father, 
John  Himrod  Vincent,  the  great-great-grandson  of 
the  Huguenot  refugee,  was  dwelling  at  Tuscaloosa, 
Alabama.  Dr.  Vincent  used  to  say  that  he  began 
his  ministry  before  he  was  six  years  old,  preaching 
to  the  little  negroes  around  his  home.  The  family 
moved  during  his  early  childhood  to  a  farm  near 
Lewisburg,  Pa.,  on  Chillisquasque  Creek,  where  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  taught  in  the  public  school. 

When  not  much  above  sixteen  he  was  licensed  as 
a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
He  soon  became  a  junior  preacher  on  a  four  weeks' 
circuit  along  the  Lehigh  River,  which  at  that  time 
seems  to  have  been  in  the  bounds  of  the  old  Balti- 
more Conference.  He  rode  his  circuit  on  horseback, 
with  a  pair  of  saddlebags  behind  him,  and  boarded 
'round  among  his  parishioners.  His  saintly  mother, 
of  whose  character  and  influence  he  always  spoke 
in  the  highest  reverence,  died  at  this  time,  and 
soon  after  he  went  to  visit  relatives  in  Newark, 
N.  J.  There  he  served  as  an  assistant  in  the  city 
mission,  and  at  the  same  time  studied  in  the 
Wesleyan  Academy  on  High  Street.  A  fellow 
student,  who  became  and  continued  through  a 
long  life  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  the  Rev. 
George  H.  Whitney,  said  that  young  Vincent 
differed  from  most  of  his  classmates  in  his  eager 


THE  FOUNDERS  13 

desire  for  education,  his  appetite  for  book-knowl- 
edge leading  him  to  read  almost  every  volume  that 
came  his  way,  and  his  visions,  then  supposed  to  be 
mere  dreams,  of  plans  for  the  intellectual  uplift  of 
humanity.  It  was  his  keenest  sorrow  that  he  could 
not  realize  his  intense  yearning  for  a  course  in 
college;  but  perhaps  his  loss  in  youth  became  a 
nation's  gain  in  his  maturer  years. 

In  1853  he  was  received  formally  as  a  member 
"on  trial'*  in  the  New  Jersey  Conference,  at  that 
time  embracing  the  entire  State.  His  first  charge 
as  pastor  was  at  North  Belleville,  later  known  as 
Franklin,  now  Nutley,  where  a  handsome  new 
church  bears  his  name  and  commemorates  his  early 
ministry.  His  second  charge  was  at  a  small  suburb 
of  Newark,  then  called  Camptown,  now  the  thriv- 
ing borough  of  Irvington.  His  ministry  from  the 
beginning  had  been  marked  by  an  interest  in  child- 
hood and  youth,  and  a  strong  effort  to  strengthen 
the  work  of  the  Sunday  School.  At  Camptown  he 
established  a  definite  course  of  Bible  teaching  for 
teachers  and  young  people.  Near  the  church  he 
staked  out  a  map  of  Palestine,  marked  its  moun- 
tains and  streams,  its  localities  and  battlefields, 
and  led  his  teachers  and  older  scholars  on  pilgrim- 
ages from  Dan  to  Beersheba,  pausing  at  each  of  the 
sacred  places  while  a  member  of  the  class  told  its 


14       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

story.  The  lessons  of  that  Palestine  Class,  taught 
on  the  peripatetic  plan  in  the  fifties,  are  still  in 
print,  showing  the  requirements  for  each  successive 
grade  of  Pilgrim,  Resident  in  Palestine,  Dweller 
in  Jerusalem,  Explorer  of  other  Bible  Lands,  and 
after  a  final  and  searching  examination,  Templar, 
wearing  a  gold  medal.  At  each  of  his  pastoral 
charges  after  this,  he  conducted  his  Palestine 
Class  and  constructed  his  outdoor  map  of  the 
Holy  Land.  May  we  not  find  here  the  germ  des- 
tined to  grow  into  the  Palestine  Park  of  the 
Chautauqua  Assembly? 

After  four  years  in  New  Jersey  young  Vincent 
was  transferred  in  1857  to  Illinois,  where  in  succes- 
sion he  had  charge  of  four  churches,  beginning  with 
Joliet,  where  he  met  a  young  lady  teacher,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Dusenbury,  of  Portville,  N.  Y.,  who 
became  his  wife,  and  in  the  after  years  by  her  warm 
heart,  clear  head,  and  wise  judgment  greatly  con- 
tributed to  her  husband's  success.  He  was  a  year 
at  Mount  Morris,  the  seat  of  the  Rock  River  Con- 
ference Seminary,  at  which  he  studied  while  pastor 
in  the  community.  For  two  years,  1860  and  '61, 
he  was  at  Galena,  and  found  in  his  congregation  a 
quiet  ex-army  officer,  named  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  who 
afterward  said  when  introducing  him  to  President 
Lincoln,  "Dr.  Vincent  was  my  pastor  at  Galena, 


THE  FOUNDERS  15 

111.,  and  I  do  not  think  that  I  missed  one  of  his 
sermons  while  I  lived  there."  Long  after  the  Civil 
War  days  Bishop  Vincent  expressed  in  some  auto- 
biographical notes  his  estimate  of  General  Grant. 
He  wrote :  "  General  Grant  was  one  of  the  loveliest 
and  most  reverent  of  men.  He  had  a  strong  will 
under  that  army  overcoat  of  his,  but  he  was  the 
soul  of  honor  and  as  reverent  as  he  was  brave." 
After  two  years  at  Rockford — two  years  having 
been  until  1864  the  limit  for  a  pastorate  in  Ameri- 
can Methodism — in  1865  he  was  appointed  to 
Trinity  Church,  Chicago,  then  the  most  important 
church  of  his  denomination  in  that  city. 

Chicago  opened  the  door  of  opportunity  to  a 
wider  field.  The  pastor  of  Trinity  found  in  that 
city  a  group  of  young  men,  enthusiasts  in  the 
Sunday  School,  and  progressive  in  their  aims.  Dr. 
Vincent  at  once  became  a  leader  among  them  and 
by  their  aid  was  able  to  introduce  a  Uniform 
Lesson  in  the  schools  of  the  city.  He  established 
in  1865  a  Sunday  School  Quarterly,  which  in  the 
following  years  became  the  Sunday  School  Teacher, 
in  its  editorials  and  its  lesson  material  setting  a 
new  standard  for  Sunday  School  instruction.  His 
abilities  were  soon  recognized  by  the  authorities  in 
his  church,  and  he  was  called  to  New  York  to 
become  first  General  Agent  of  the  Sunday  School 


16       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Union,  the  organization  directing  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Sunday  Schools  throughout  the  world,  and  in 
1868,  secretary  and  editor.  He  organized  and  set 
in  circulation  the  Berean  Uniform  Lessons  for  his 
denomination,  an  important  link  in  the  chain  of 
events  which  in  1873  made  the  Sunday  School 
lessons  uniform  throughout  America  and  the  world. 
It  is  the  fashion  now  to  depreciate  the  Uniform 
Lesson  Plan  as  unpedagogic  and  unpsychologic ; 
but  its  inauguration  was  the  greatest  forward  step 
ever  taken  in  the  evolution  of  the  Sunday  School ; 
for  it  instituted  systematic  study  of  the  Bible,  and 
especially  of  the  Old  Testament ;  it  brought  to  the 
service  of  the  teacher  the  ablest  Bible  scholars  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic ;  it  enabled  the  teachers 
of  a  school,  a  town,  or  a  city  to  unite  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  their  lessons.  Chicago,  New  York,  Brook- 
lyn, Boston,  and  many  other  places  soon  held  study- 
classes  of  Sunday  School  teachers,  of  all  grades, 
of  a  thousand  or  more  gathered  on  a  week-day  to 
listen  to  the  lectures  of  great  instructors.  The 
Plainfield  (N.  J.)  Railroad  Class  was  not  the  only 
group  of  Sunday  School  workers  who  spent  their 
hour  on  the  train  passing  to  and  from  business  in 
studying  together  their  Sunday  School  lesson. 

Soon  after  Dr.  Vincent  assumed  the  charge  of 
general  Sunday  School  work,  having  his  office  in 


THE  FOUNDERS  17 

New  York,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Plainfield, 
N.  J.,  a  suburban  city  which  felt  his  influence  and 
responded  to  it  for  twenty  years.  Having  led  the 
way  to  one  summit  in  his  ideals,  he  saw  other 
mountain-heights  beyond,  and  continually  pointed 
his  followers  upward.  When  he  succeeded  to  the 
editorship  of  the  Sunday  School  Journal,  the 
teachers'  magazine  of  his  church,  he  found  a  circu- 
lation of  about  five  thousand.  With  the  Uniform 
Lesson,  and  his  inspiring  editorials,  it  speedily  rose 
to  a  hundred  thousand,  and  a  few  years  later  to 
two  hundred  thousand  subscribers,  while  his  lesson 
leaves  and  quarterlies  went  into  the  millions.  With 
voice — that  wonderful,  awakening,  thrilling  voice 
— and  with  a  pen  on  fire,  he  appealed  everywhere 
for  a  training  that  should  fit  Sunday  School 
teachers  for  their  great  work.  He  established  in 
many  places  the  Normal  Class,  and  marked  out  a 
course  of  instruction  for  its  students.  This  was 
the  step  which  led  directly  to  the  Chautauqua 
Assembly,  which  indeed  made  some  such  institu- 
tion a  necessity. 

The  Normal  Class  proposed  a  weekly  meeting  of 
Sunday  School  teachers  or  of  young  people  seeking 
preparation  for  teaching,  a  definite  course  of  study, 
examinations  at  regular  stages,  and  a  diploma  to 
those  who  met  its  standards.  Dr.  Vincent  con- 


1 8       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ceived  the  plan  of  bringing  together  a  large  body  of 
teacher-students,  who  should  spend  at  least  a  fort- 
night in  daily  study,  morning  and  afternoon,  and 
thus  accomplish  more  work  than  in  six  months  of 
weekly  meetings.  He  aimed  also  to  have  lectures 
on  inspiring  themes,  with  a  spice  of  entertainment 
to  impart  variety.  While  this  ideal  was  rising 
before  him  and  shaping  in  his  mind,  he  found  a 
kindred  spirit,  a  genius  in  invention,  and  a  prac- 
tical, wise  business  man  whose  name  was  destined 
to  stand  beside  his  own  in  equal  honor  wherever 
and  whenever  Chautauqua  is  named — Lewis 
Miller  of  Akron,  Ohio,  the  first  and  until  his  death 
in  1899  the  only  president  of  Chautauqua. 

Lewis  Miller  was  born  on  July  24, 1829,  at  Green- 
town,  Ohio.  He  received  in  his  childhood  the 
limited  education  in  "the  three  R's — reading, 
'riting  and  'rithmetic, "  usual  in  the  country  school ; 
and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  himself  a  school 
teacher.  In  1849,  twenty  years  old,  he  began  work 
at  the  plastering  trade,  but  at  the  same  time  was 
attending  school.  He  became  a  partner  in  the 
manufacturing  firm  of  Aultman,  Ball  and  Co., 
which  soon  became  Aultman,  Miller  and  Co.,  and 
was  removed  from  Greentown  to  Canton,  Ohio. 
Here,  about  1857,  Mr.  Miller  invented  and  put 
into  successful  operation  the  Buckeye  Mower  and 


THE  FOUNDERS  19 

Reaper,  which  made  him  famous,  and  with  other 
inventions  brought  to  him  a  fortune.  His  home 
was  for  many  years,  and  until  his  death,  at  Akron. 
From  his  earliest  years  he  was  interested  in  educa- 
tion, and  especially  in  education  through  the 
Sunday  School.  He  became  Sunday  School  Super- 
intendent of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Akron,  and  made  it  more  than  most  of  the  Sun- 
day Schools  in  that  generation  a  school,  and  not 
merely  a  meeting  for  children.  He  organized  a 
graded  system  and  required  his  pupils  to  pass  from 
grade  to  grade  through  the  door  of  an  examination 
in  Bible  knowledge.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
Sunday  School  superintendents  to  organize  a 
Normal  Class  for  the  equipment  and  training  of 
young  people  for  teaching  in  his  school.  At  a 
certain  stage  in  the  promotions  every  young  man 
and  young  woman  passed  one  year  or  two  years  in 
the  Normal  Grade;  for  which  he  arranged  the 
course  until  one  was  provided  by  Dr.  Vincent  after 
he  became  Secretary  of  Sunday  School  work  for 
the  denomination  in  1868;  and  in  the  planning  of 
that  early  normal  course,  Mr.  Miller  took  an  active 
part,  for  he  met  in  John  H.  Vincent  one  who,  like 
himself,  held  inspiring  ideals  for  the  Sunday  School, 
and  the  two  leaders  were  often  in  consultation. 
It  was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  American 


20       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Sunday  School  when  Mr.  Miller  built  the  first 
Sunday  School  hall  in  the  land  according  to  a  plan 
originated  by  himself;  its  architectural  features 
being  wrought  out  under  his  direction  by  his  fellow- 
townsman  and  friend,  Mr.  Jacob  Snyder,  an 
architect  of  distinction.  In  this  building,  then 
unique  but  now  followed  by  thousands  of  churches, 
there  was  a  domed  central  assembly  hall,  with 
rooms  radiating  from  it  in  two  stories,  capable  of 
being  open  during  the  general  exercises,  but  closed 
in  the  lesson  period  so  that  each  class  could  be 
alone  with  its  teacher  while  studying. 

Mr.  Miller  was  also  interested  in  secular  educa- 
tion, was  for  years  president  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion in  Akron,  always  aiming  for  higher  standards 
in  teaching.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  Mount  Union 
College  in  his  own  State.  Two  men  such  as  Vin- 
cent and  Miller,  both  men  of  vision,  both  leaders 
in  education  through  the  Sunday  School,  both  aim- 
ing to  make  that  institution  more  efficient,  would 
inevitably  come  together;  and  it  was  fortunate 
that  they  were  able  to  work  hand  in  hand,  each 
helping  the  other. 

These  two  men  had  thoughts  of  gatherings  of 
Sunday  School  workers,  not  in  conventions,  to 
hear  reports  and  listen  to  speeches,  not  to  go  for 
one-day  or  two-  or  three-day  institutes,  but  to 


THE  FOUNDERS  21 

spend  weeks  together  in  studying  the  Bible  and 
methods  of  Sunday  School  work.  They  talked  over 
their  plans,  and  they  found  that  while  they  had 
much  in  common  in  their  conception  each  one 
could  supplement  the  other  in  some  of  the  details. 
It  had  been  Dr.  Vincent's  purpose  to  hold  his 
gathering  of  Sunday  School  workers  and  Bible 
students  within  the  walls  of  a  large  church,  in  some 
city  centrally  located  and  easily  reached  by  rail- 
road. He  suggested  to  Mr.  Miller  that  his  new 
Sunday  School  building,  with  its  many  classrooms 
opening  into  one  large  assembly  hall,  would  be  a 
suitable  place  for  launching  the  new  enterprise. 

One  cannot  help  asking  the  question — what 
would  have  been  the  result  if  Dr.  Vincent's  pro- 
posal had  been  accepted,  and  the  first  Sunday 
School  Assembly  had  been  held  in  a  city  and  a 
church?  Surely  the  word  ' ' Chautauqua "  would 
never  have  appeared  as  the  name  of  a  new  and 
mighty  movement  in  education.  Moreover,  it  is 
almost  certain  that  the  movement  itself  would 
never  have  arisen  to  prominence  and  to  power. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  no  Chautauqua  As- 
sembly has  ever  succeeded,  though  often  attempted, 
in  or  near  a  large  city.  One  of  the  most  striking 
and  drawing  features  of  the  Chautauqua  move- 
ment has  been  its  out-of-doors  and  in-the-woods 


22       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

habitat.  The  two  founders  did  not  dream  in  those 
days  of  decision  that  the  fate  of  a  great  educational 
system  was  hanging  in  the  balance. 

An  inspiration  came  to  Lewis  Miller  to  hold  the 
projected  series  of  meetings  in  a  forest,  and  under 
the  tents  of  a  camp  meeting.  Camp  meetings  had 
been  held  in  the  United  States  since  1799,  when 
the  first  gathering  of  this  name  took  place  in  a 
grove  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  River  in  Kentucky 
led  by  two  brothers  McGee,  one  a  Presbyterian, 
the  other  a  Methodist.  In  those  years  churches 
were  few  and  far  apart  through  the  hamlets  and 
villages  of  the  west  and  south.  The  camp  meeting 
brought  together  great  gatherings  of  people  who 
for  a  week  or  more  listened  to  sermons,  held  almost 
continuous  prayer  meetings,  and  called  sinners  to 
repentance.  The  interest  died  down  somewhat  in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  following 
the  Civil  War,  a  wave  of  enthusiasm  for  camp 
meetings  swept  over  the  land.  In  hundreds  of 
groves,  east  and  west,  land  was  purchased  or  leased, 
lots  were  sold,  tents  were  pitched,  and  people  by 
the  thousand  gathered  for  soul-stirring  services. 
In  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  successful  of  these 
camp  meetings,  that  on  Martha's  Vineyard,  tents 
had  largely  given  place  to  houses,  and  a  city  had 
arisen  in  the  forest.  This  example  had  been  fol- 


THE  FOUNDERS  23 

lowed,  and  on  many  camp-meeting  grounds  houses 
of  a  primitive  sort  straggled  around  the  open  circle 
where  the  preaching  services  were  held.  Most  of 
these  buildings  were  mere  sheds,  destitute  of 
architectural  beauty,  and  innocent  even  of  paint 
on  their  walls  of  rough  boards.  Many  of  these 
antique  structures  may  still  be  seen  at  Chautau- 
qua,  survivals  of  the  camp-meeting  period,  in 
glaring  contrast  with  the  more  modern  summer 
homes  beside  them. 

At  first  Dr.  Vincent  did  not  take  kindly  to  the 
thought  of  holding  his  training  classes  and  their 
accompaniments  in  any  relationship  to  a  camp 
meeting  or  even  upon  a  camp  ground.  He  was  not 
in  sympathy  with  the  type  of  religious  life  mani- 
fested and  promoted  at  these  gatherings.  The  fact 
that  they  dwelt  too  deeply  in  the  realm  of  emotion 
and  excitement,  that  they  stirred  the  feelings  to 
the  neglect  of  the  reasoning  and  thinking  faculties, 
that  the  crowd  called  together  on  a  camp-meeting 
ground  would  not  represent  the  sober,  sane, 
thoughtful  element  of  church  life— all  these  re- 
pelled Dr.  Vincent  from  the  camp  meeting. 

Mr.  Miller  had  recently  become  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  a  camp  meeting  held  at  Fair  Point  on  Lake 
Chautauqua,  and  proposed  that  Dr.  Vincent 
should  visit  the  place  with  him.  Somewhat  un- 


24       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

willingly,  yet  with  an  open  mind,  Vincent  rode 
with  Miller  by  train  to  Lakewood  near  the  foot  of 
the  lake,  and  then  in  a  small  steamer  sailed  to 
Fair  Point.  A  small  boy  was  with  them,  sitting 
in  the  prow  of  the  boat,  and  as  it  touched  the 
wharf  he  was  the  first  of  its  passengers  to  leap 
on  the  land — and  in  after  years,  George  Edgar 
Vincent,  LL.D.,  was  wont  to  claim  that  he,  at  the 
mature  age  of  nine  years,  was  the  original  dis- 
coverer of  Chautauqua ! 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1873,  soon  after  the 
fourth  session  of  the  Erie  Conference  Camp  Meet- 
ing of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  that  Dr. 
Vincent  came,  saw,  and  was  conquered.  His  nor- 
mal class  and  its  subsidiary  lectures  and  enter- 
tainments should  be  held  under  the  beeches,  oaks, 
and  maples  shading  the  terraced  slopes  rising  up 
from  Lake  Chautauqua. 

A  lady  who  had  attended  the  camp  meeting  in 
1871,  its  second  session  upon  the  grounds  at  Fair 
Point,  afterward  wrote  her  first  impressions  of  the 
place.  She  said  that  the  superintendent  of  the 
grounds,  Mr.  Pratt  (from  whom  an  avenue  at 
Chautauqua  received  its  name  some  years  after- 
ward), told  her  that  until  May,  1870,  "the  sound  of 
an  axe  had  not  been  heard  in  those  woods."  This 
lady  (Mrs.  Kate  P.  Bruch)  wrote: 


THE  FOUNDERS  25 

Many  of  the  trees  were  immense  in  size,  and  in  all 
directions,  from  the  small  space  occupied  by  those 
who  were  tenting  there,  we  could  walk  through  seas  of 
nodding  ferns;  while  everywhere  through  the  forest 
was  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers,  creeping  vines,  mur- 
muring pine,  beautiful  mosses  and  lichens.  The  lake 
itself  delighted  us  with  its  lovely  shores ;  where  either 
highly  cultivated  lands  dotted  with  farmhouses,  or 
stretches  of  pine  forest,  met  on  all  sides  the  cool,  clear 
water  that  sparkled  or  danced  in  the  sunlight,  or  gave 
subdued  but  beautiful  reflection  of  the  moonlight. 
We  were  especially  charmed  with  the  narrow,  tortuous 
outlet  of  the  lake — then  so  closely  resembling  the 
streams  of  tropical  climes.  With  the  trees  pressing 
closely  to  the  water's  edge,  covered  with  rich  foliage, 
tangled  vines  clinging  and  swaying  from  their  branches ; 
and  luxuriant  undergrowth,  through  which  the  bright 
cardinal  flowers  were  shining,  it  was  not  difficult  to 
fancy  one's  self  far  from  our  northern  clime,  sailing 
over  water  that  never  felt  the  cold  clasp  of  frost  and 
snow. 

The  steamers  winding  their  way  through  the 
romantic  outlet  were  soon  to  be  laden  with  new 
throngs  looking  for  the  first  time  upon  forest, 
farms,  and  lake.  Those  ivy-covered  and  moss- 
grown  terraces  of  Fair  Point  were  soon  to  be 
trodden  by  the  feet  of  multitudes ;  and  that  camp- 
meeting  stand  from  which  fervent  appeals  to  re- 
pentance had  sounded  forth,  to  meet  responses  of 
raptured  shouts  from  saints,  and  cries  for  mercy 


26       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

from  seekers,  was  soon  to  become  the  arena  for 
religious  thought  and  aspiration  of  types  con- 
trasted with  those  of  the  camp  meeting  of  former 
years. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOME   PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES 

WE  have  looked  at  the  spot  chosen  for  this  new 
movement,  and  we  have  become  somewhat  ac- 
quainted with  its  two  leaders.  Let  us  now  look  at 
its  foundations,  and  note  the  principles  upon  which 
it  was  based.  We  shall  at  once  perceive  that  the 
original  plans  of  the  Fair  Point  Assembly  were 
very  narrow  in  comparison  with  those  of  Chau- 
tauqua  to-day.  Yet  those  aims  were  of  such  a 
nature,  like  a  Gothic  Church,  as  would  readily 
lend  themselves  to  enlargement  on  many  sides, 
and  only  add  to  the  unique  beauty  of  the  structure. 

In  this  chapter  we  are  not  undertaking  to  set 
forth  the  Chautauqua  Idea,  as  it  is  now  realized — 
education  for  everybody,  everywhere,  and  in  every 
department  of  knowledge,  inspired  by  a  Christian 
faith.  Whatever  may  have  been  in  the  mind  of 
either  founder,  this  wide-reaching  aim  was  not  in 
those  early  days  made  known.  Both  Miller  and 
Vincent  were  interested  in  education,  and  each  of 
them  felt  his  own  lack  of  college  training,  but 

27 


28       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

during  the  first  three  or  four  years  of  Chautauqua's 
history  all  its  aims  were  in  the  line  of  religious 
education  through  the  Sunday  School.  We  are 
not  to  look  for  the  traits  of  its  later  development, 
in  those  primal  days.  Ours  is  the  story  of  an  evolu- 
tion, and  not  a  philosophical  treatise. 

The  first  assembly  on  Chautauqua  Lake  was 
held  under  the  sanction  and  direction  of  the  gov- 
erning Sunday  School  Board  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  by  resolution  of  the  Board  in 
New  York  at  its  meeting  in  October,  1873,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  request  from  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Chautauqua  Lake  Camp  Ground  Associa- 
tion, and  upon  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Vincent, 
whose  official  title  was  Corresponding  Secretary  of 
the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  The  Normal  Committee  of  the 
Union  was  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the 
projected  meetings;  Lewis  Miller  was  appointed 
President,  and  John  H.  Vincent,  Superintendent 
of  Instruction. 

Although  held  upon  a  camp  ground  and  inherit- 
ing some  of  the  camp-meeting  opportunities,  the 
gathering  was  planned  to  be  unlike  a  camp  meet- 
ing in  its  essential  features,  and  to  reach  a  con- 
stituency outside  that  of  the  camp  ground.  Its 
name  was  a  new  one,  "The  Assembly,"  and  its 


SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES          29 

sphere  was  announced  to  be  that  of  the  Sunday 
School.  There  was  to  be  a  definite  and  carefully 
prepared  program  of  a  distinctly  educational  cast, 
with  no  opening  for  spontaneous,  go-as-you-please 
meetings  to  be  started  at  any  moment.  This  was 
arranged  to  keep  a  quietus  on  both  the  religious 
enthusiast  and  the  wandering  Sunday  School  ora- 
tor who  expected  to  make  a  speech  on  every 
occasion.  On  my  first  visit  to  Fair  Point — which 
was  not  in  '74  but  in  '75 — I  found  a  prominent 
Sunday  School  talker  from  my  own  State,  grip- 
sack in  hand,  leaving  the  ground.  He  explained, 
"This  is  no  place  for  me.  They  have  a  cut-and- 
dried  program,  and  a  fellow  can't  get  a  word  in 
anywhere.  I'm  going  home.  Give  me  the  conven- 
tion where  a  man  can  speak  if  he  wants  to." 

In  most  of  the  camp  meetings,  but  not  in  all, 
Sunday  was  the  great  day,  a  picnic  on  a  vast  scale, 
bringing  hundreds  of  stages,  carryalls,  and  wagons 
from  all  quarters,  special  excursion  trains  loaded 
with  visitors,  fleets  of  boats  on  the  lake  or  river, 
if  the  ground  could  be  reached  by  water  route. 
No  doubt  some  good  was  wrought.  Under  the 
spell  of  a  stirring  preacher  some  were  turned  from 
sin  to  righteousness.  But  much  harm  was  also 
done,  in  the  emptying  of  churches  for  miles  around, 
the  bringing  together  of  a  horde  of  people  intent  on 


30       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

pleasure,  and  utter  confusion  taking  the  place  of 
a  sabbath-quiet  which  should  reign  on  a  ground 
consecrated  to  worship.  Against  this  desecration 
of  the  holy  day,  Miller  and  Vincent  set  themselves 
firmly.  As  a  condition  of  accepting  the  invitation 
of  the  Camp  Meeting  Association  to  hold  the  pro- 
posed Assembly  at  Fair  Point,  the  gates  were  to  be 
absolutely  closed  against  all  visitors  on  Sunday; 
and  notice  was  posted  that  no  boats  would  be 
allowed  to  land  on  that  day  at  the  Fair  Point  pier. 
In  those  early  days  everybody  came  to  Fair  Point 
by  boat.  There  was  indeed  a  back-door  entrance 
on  land  for  teams  and  foot  passengers;  but  few 
entered  through  it.  In  these  modern  days  of  elec- 
tricity, now  that  the  lake  is  girdled  with  trolley 
lines,  and  a  hundred  automobiles  stand  parked 
outside  the  gates,  the  back  door  has  become  the 
front  door,  and  the  steamboats  are  comparatively 
forsaken. 

In  addition  to  the  name  Assembly,  the  exact 
order  of  exercises,  and  the  closed  ground  on  Sun- 
day, there  was  another  startling  departure  from 
camp-meeting  usages — a  gate  fee.  The  overhead 
expenses  of  a  camp  meeting  were  comparatively 
light.  Those  were  not  the  days  when  famous 
evangelists  like  Sam  Jones  and  popular  preachers 
such  as  DeWitt  Talmage  received  two  hundred 


SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES          31 

dollars  for  a  Sunday  sermon.  Board  and  keep  were 
the  rewards  of  the  ministers,  and  the  "keep"  was 
a  bunk  in  the  preachers'  tent.  The  needed  funds 
were  raised  by  collections,  which  though  nominally 
"voluntary"  were  often  obtained  under  high- 
pressure  methods.  But  the  Assembly,  with  well- 
known  lecturers,  teachers  of  recognized  ability,  and 
the  necessary  nation-wide  advertising  to  awaken 
interest  in  a  new  movement  would  of  necessity  be 
expensive.  How  should  the  requisite  dollars  by 
the  thousand  be  raised?  The  two  heads  of  the 
Assembly  resolved  to  dispense  with  the  collections, 
and  have  a  gate  fee  for  all  comers.  Fortunately 
the  Fair  Point  grounds  readily  lent  themselves  to 
this  plan,  for  they  were  already  surrounded  on 
three  sides  by  a  high  picket-fence,  and  only  the 
small  boys  knew  where  the  pickets  were  loose,  and 
they  didn't  tell. 

The  Sunday  closing  and  the  entrance  charge 
raised  a  storm  of  indignation  all  around  the  lake. 
The  steamboat  owners — in  those  days  there  were 
no  steamer  corporations;  each  boat  big  or  little, 
was  owned  by  its  captain — the  steamboat  owners 
saw  plainly  that  Sunday  would  be  a  "lost  day" 
to  them  if  the  gates  were  closed;  and  the  thousands 
of  visitors  to  the  camp  meeting  who  had  squeezed 
out  a  dime,  or  even  a  penny,  when  the  basket  went 


32        THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

around,  bitterly  complained  outside  the  gates  at  a 
quarter  for  daily  admission,  half  of  what  they  had 
cheerfully  handed  over  when  the  annual  circus 
came  to  town.  During  the  first  Assembly  in  1874, 
the  gatekeepers  needed  all  their  patience  and 
politeness  to  restrain  some  irate  visitors  from 
coming  to  blows  over  the  infringement  of  their 
right  to  free  entrance  upon  the  Fair  Point  Camp 
Ground.  There  were  holders  of  leases  upon  lots 
who  expected  free  entrance  for  themselves  and 
their  families — and  "family"  was  stretched  to 
include  visitors.  Then  there  were  the  preachers 
who  could  not  comprehend  why  they  should  buy 
a  ticket  for  entrance  to  the  holy  ground!  The 
financial  and  restrictive  regulations  were  left 
largely  to  Lewis  Miller,  who  possessed  the  suaviter 
in  modo  so  graciously  that  many  failed  to  realize 
underneath  it  the  for  tiler  in  re.  Behind  that 
smiling  countenance  of  the  President  of  Chautau- 
qua  was  an  uncommonly  stiff  backbone.  Rules 
once  fixed  were  kept  in  the  teeth  of  opposition  from 
both  sinners  and  saints. 

Let  me  anticipate  some  part  of  our  story  by 
saying  that  at  the  present  time  there  are  from  six 
to  eight  hundred  all-the-year  residents  upon 
Chautauqua  grounds.  Before  the  Assembly  opens 
on  July  ist,  every  family  must  obtain  season 


SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES          33 

tickets  to  the  public  exercises  for  all  except  the  very 
youngest  members  and  bedridden  invalids.  A 
lease  upon  Chautauqua  property  does  not  entitle 
the  holder  to  admission  to  the  grounds.  If  he 
owns  an  automobile,  it  must  be  parked  outside, 
and  cannot  be  brought  through  the  gates  without 
the  payment  of  an  entrance  fee,  and  an  officer 
riding  beside  the  chauffeur  to  see  that  in  Chau- 
tauqua's  narrow  streets  and  thronged  walks  all 
care  is  taken  against  accident.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  this  rule  is  in  favor  of  physicians  who  are 
visiting  patients  within  the  enclosure. 

The  catholicity  of  the  plans  for  the  first  Assembly 
must  not  be  forgotten.  Both  its  founders  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
loyal  to  its  institutions.  But  they  were  also  be- 
lievers in  and  members  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  true  church  of  Christ  on  earth,  wherein 
every  Christian  body  has  a  part.  They  had  no 
thought  to  ignore  the  various  denominations,  but 
aimed  to  make  every  follower  of  Christ  at  home. 
Upon  the  program  appeared  the  names  of  men 
eminent  in  all  the  churches ;  and  it  was  a  felicitous 
thought  to  hold  each  week  on  one  evening  the 
prayer  meetings  of  the  several  churches,  each  by 
itself,  also  to  plan  on  one  afternoon  in  different 
places  on  the  ground,  for  denominational  con- 


34       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ferences  where  the  members  of  each  church  could 
freely  discuss  their  own  problems  and  provide  for 
their  own  interests.  This  custom  established  at 
the  first  assembly  has  become  one  of  the  traditions 
of  Chautauqua.  Every  Wednesday  evening,  from 
seven  to  eight,  is  assigned  for  denominational 
prayer  meetings,  and  on  the  second  Wednesday 
afternoon  in  August,  two  hours  are  set  apart  for 
the  Denominational  Conferences.  The  author  of 
this  volume  knows  something  about  one  of  those 
meetings ;  for  year  after  year  it  has  brought  him  to 
his  wit's  end,  to  provide  a  program  that  will  not 
be  a  replica  of  the  last  one,  and  then  sometimes,  to 
persuade  the  conferences  to  confer.  But  if  a  list 
were  made  of  the  noble  names  that  have  taken 
part  in  these  gatherings,  it  would  show  that  the 
interdenominational  plan  of  the  founders  has  been 
justified  by  the  results.  It  is  a  great  fact  that  for 
nearly  fifty  years  the  loyal  members  of  almost 
every  church  in  the  land  have  come  together  at 
Chautauqua,  all  in  absolute  freedom  to  speak 
their  minds,  yet  with  never  the  least  friction  or 
controversy.  And  this  relation  was  not  one  of  an 
armed  neutrality  between  bodies  in  danger  of 
breaking  out  into  open  war.  It  did  not  prevent  a 
good-natured  raillery  on  the  Chautauqua  plat- 
form between  speakers  of  different  denominations. 


SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES          35 

If  anyone  had  a  joke  at  the  expense  of  the  Baptists 
or  the  Methodists  or  the  Presbyterians,  he  never 
hesitated  to  tell  it  before  five  thousand  people, 
even  with  the  immediate  prospect  of  being  de- 
molished by  a  retort  from  the  other  side. 

A  conversation  that  occurred  at  least  ten  years 
after  the  session  of  '74  belongs  here  logically,  if  not 
chronologically.  A  tall,  long-coated  minister 
whose  accent  showed  his  nativity  in  the  southern 
mountain-region  said  to  me,  "I  wish  to  inquire, 
sir,  what  is  the  doctrinal  platform  of  this 
assembly."  "There  is  none,  so  far  as  I  know,"  I 
answered.  "You  certainly  do  not  mean,  sir," 
he  responded,  "that  there  is  not  an  understanding 
as  to  the  doctrines  allowed  to  be  taught  on  this 
platform.  Is  there  no  statement  in  print  of  the 
views  that  must  or  must  not  be  expressed  by  the 
different  speakers?"  "I  never  heard  of  any,"  I 
said,  "and  if  there  was  such  a  statement  I  think 
that  I  should  know  about  it."  "What,  sir,  is 
there  to  prevent  any  speaker  from  attacking  the 
doctrines  of  some  other  church,  or  even  from 
speaking  against  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Christianity?"  "Nothing  in  the  world,"  I  said, 
"except  that  nobody  at  Chautauqua  ever  wishes 
to  attack  any  other  Christian  body.  If  anyone 
did  such  a  thing,  I  don't  believe  that  it  would  be 


36       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

thought  necessary  to  disown  or  even  to  answer 
him.  But  I  am  quite  certain  that  it  would  be  his 
last  appearance  on  the  Chautauqua  platform." 

In  this  chapter  I  have  sought  to  point  out  the 
foundation  stones  of  Chautauqua,  as  they  were 
laid  nearly  half  a  century  ago.  Others  were  placed 
later  in  the  successive  years;  but  these  were  the 
original  principles,  and  these  have  been  maintained 
for  more  than  a  generation.  Let  us  fix  them  in 
memory  by  a  restatement  and  an  enumeration. 
First,  Chautauqua,  now  an  institution  for  general 
and  popular  education,  began  in  the  department  of 
religion  as  taught  in  the  Sunday  School.  Second, 
it  was  an  out-of-doors  school,  held  in  the  forest, 
blazing  the  way  and  setting  the  pace  of  summer 
schools  in  the  open  air  throughout  the  nation  and 
the  world.  Third,  although  held  upon  a  camp- 
meeting  ground  it  was  widely  different  in  aim  and 
method,  spirit  and  clientele  from  the  old-fashioned 
camp  meeting.  Fourth,  it  maintained  the  sanctity 
of  the  Sabbath,  closed  its  gates,  and  frowned  upon 
every  attempt  to  secularize  or  commercialize  the 
holy  day,  or  to  make  it  a  day  of  pleasure.  Fifth, 
the  enterprise  was  supported,  not  by  collections 
at  its  services,  or  by  contributions  from  patrons, 
but  by  a  fee  upon  entrance  from  every  comer. 
Sixth,  it  was  to  represent  not  one  branch  of  the 


SOME  PRIMAL  PRINCIPLES          37 

church,  but  to  bring  together  all  the  churches  in 
acquaintance  and  friendship,  to  promote,  not 
church  union,  but  church  unity.  And  seventh, 
let  it  be  added  that  it  was  to  be  in  no  sense  a  money- 
making  institution.  There  were  trustees  but  no 
stockholders,  and  no  dividends.  If  any  funds  re- 
mained after  paying  the  necessary  expenses,  they 
were  to  be  used  for  improvement  of  the  grounds 
or  the  enlargement  of  the  program.  Upon  these 
foundations  Chautauqua  has  stood  and  has  grown 
to  greatness. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   BEGINNINGS 

BUT  let  us  come  to  the  opening  session  of  the 
Assembly,  destined  to  greater  fortune  and  fame 
than  even  its  founders  at  that  time  dreamed.  It 
was  named  "The  Sunday  School  Teachers*  As- 
sembly," for  the  wider  field  of  general  education 
then  lay  only  in  the  depths  of  one  founder's  mind. 
For  the  sake  of  history,  let  us  name  the  officers  of 
this  first  Assembly.  They  were  as  follows : 

Chairman — Lewis  Miller,  Esq.,  of  Akron,  Ohio. 
Department  of  Instruction — Rev.  John  H!  Vincent, 

D.D.,  of  New  York. 
Department  of  Entertainment — Rev.  R.  W.  Scott, 

Mayville,  N.  Y. 
Department  of  Supplies — J.  E.  Wesener,  Esq.,  Akron, 

Ohio. 
Department  of  Order — Rev.  R.  M.  Warren,  Fredonia, 

N.Y. 
Department   of   Recreation— Rev.    W.    W.    Wythe, 

M.D.,  Meadville,  Pa. 
Sanitary  Department — J.  C.  Stubbs,  M.D.,  Corry, 

Pa. 

38 


THE  BEGINNINGS  39 

The  property  of  the  Camp  Meeting  Association, 
leased  for  the  season  to  the  Assembly,  embraced 
less  than  one  fourth  of  the  present  dimensions  of 
Chautauqua,  even  without  the  golf  course  and 
other  property  outside  the  gates.  East  and  west  it 
extended  as  it  does  now  from  the  Point  and  the 
Pier  to  the  public  highway.  But  on  the  north 
where  Kellogg  Memorial  Hall  now  stands  was  the 
boundary  indicated  by  the  present  Scott  Avenue, 
though  at  that  time  unmarked.  The  site  of  Nor- 
mal Hall  and  all  north  of  it  were  outside  the  fence. 
And  on  the  south  its  boundary  was  the  winding 
way  of  Palestine  Avenue.  The  ravine  now  covered 
by  the  Amphitheater  was  within  the  bounds,  but 
the  site  of  the  Hotel  Athenaeum  was  without  the 
limit. 

He  who  rambles  around  Chautauqua  in  our  day 
sees  a  number  of  large,  well-kept  hotels,  and  many 
inns  and  "cottages"  inviting  the  visitor  to  com- 
fortable rooms  and  bountiful  tables.  But  in  those 
early  days  there  was  not  one  hotel  or  boarding- 
house  at  Fair  Point.  Tents  could  be  rented,  and  a 
cottager  might  open  a  room  for  a  guest,  but  it  was 
forbidden  to  supply  table  board  for  pay.  Every- 
body, except  such  as  did  their  own  cooking,  ate 
their  meals  at  the  dining-hall,  which  was  a  long 
tabernacle  of  rough  unpainted  boards,  with  a 


40       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

leaky  roof,  and  backless  benches  where  the  feeders 
sat  around  tables  covered  with  oilcloth.  And  as 
for  the  meals — well,  if  there  was  high  thinking 
at  Chautauqua  there  was  certainly  plain  living. 
Sometimes  it  rained,  and  D.D.'s,  LL.D.'s,  pro- 
fessors, and  plain  people  held  up  umbrellas  with  one 
hand  and  tried  to  cut  tough  steaks  with  the  other. 
But  nobody  complained  at  the  fare,  for  the  feast 
of  reason  and  flow  of  soul  made  everybody  forget 
burnt  potatoes  and  hard  bread. 

What  is  now  Miller  Park,  the  level  ground  and 
lovely  grove  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  was  then  the 
Auditorium,  where  stood  a  platform  and  desk 
sheltered  from  sun  on  some  days  and  rain  on  others. 
Before  it  was  an  array  of  seats,  lacking  backs, 
instead  of  which  the  audience  used  their  own  back- 
bones. Perhaps  two  thousand  people  could  find 
sitting-room  under  the  open  sky,  shaded  by  the 
noble  trees.  A  sudden  shower  would  shoot  up  a 
thousand  umbrellas.  One  speaker  said  that  hap- 
pening to  look  up  from  his  manuscript  he  perceived 
that  an  acre  of  toadstools  had  sprouted  in  a  minute. 
At  the  lower  end  of  this  park  stood  the  tent  wherein 
Dr.  Vincent  dwelt  during  many  seasons;  at  the 
upper  end  was  the  new  cottage  of  the  Miller  family 
with  a  tent  frame  beside  it  for  guests.  At  this 
Auditorium  all  the  great  lectures  were  given  for  the 


Vfll 


41 

i 

0> 


THE  BEGINNINGS  41 

first  four  years  of  Chautauqua  history,  except  when 
continued  rain  forbade.  Then  an  adjournment, 
sometimes  hasty,  was  made  to  a  large  tent  up  the 
hill,  known  as  the  Tabernacle. 

One  day,  during  the  second  .season  of  the 
Assembly  in  1875,  Professor  William  F.  Sherwin, 
singer,  chorus  leader,  Bible  teacher,  and  wit  of  the 
first  water,  was  conducting  a  meeting  in  the  Audi- 
torium. The  weather  had  been  uncertain,  an 
"open  and  shut  day,"  and  people  hardly  knew 
whether  to  meet  for  Sher win's  service  in  the  grove 
or  in  the  tent  on  the  hill.  Suddenly  a  tall  form, 
well  known  at  Chautauqua,  came  tearing  down  the 
hill  and  up  the  steps  of  the  platform,  breathless, 
wild-eyed,  with  mop  of  hair  flying  loose,  bursting 
into  the  professor's  address  with  the  words,  ' '  Pro- 
fessor Sherwin,  I  come  as  a  committee  of  fifty  to 
invite  you  to  bring  your  meeting  up  to  the  Taber- 
nacle, safe  from  the  weather,  where  a  large  crowd 
is  gathered!"  "Well,"  responded  Sherwin,  "you 
may  be  a  committee  of  fifty,  but  you  look  like 
sixty !' '  And  from  that  day  ever  after  at  Chautau- 
qua a  highly  respected  gentleman  from  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  was  universally  known  as  "the  man  who 
looks  like  sixty." 

When  we  speak  of  Sherwin,  inevitably  we  think 
of  Frank  Beard,  the  cartoonist,  whose  jokes  were 


44       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

theater  may  notice  that  before  every  public  service, 
the  janitor  places  just  the  number  of  chairs  needed, 
and  no  more.  This  is  one  of  the  Chautauqua 
traditions,  begun  under  the  Vincent  regime. 

Before  we  come  to  the  more  serious  side  of  our 
story  let  us  notice  another  instance  of  the  contrast 
between  the  camp  meeting  and  Chautauqua.  A 
widely  known  Methodist  came,  bringing  with  him 
a  box  of  revival  song-books,  compiled  by  himself. 
He  was  a  leader  of  a  "praying  band, "  and  accus- 
tomed to  hold  meetings  where  the  enthusiasm  was 
pumped  up  to  a  high  pitch.  One  Sunday  at  a  cer- 
tain hour  he  noticed  that  the  Auditorium  in  the 
grove  was  unoccupied;  and  gathering  a  group  of 
friends  with  warm  hearts  and  strong  voices,  he 
mounted  the  platform  and  in  stentorian  tones 
began  a  song  from  his  own  book.  The  sound 
brought  people  from  all  the  tents  and  cottages 
around,  and  soon  his  meeting  was  in  full  blast, 
with  increasing  numbers  responding  to  his  ardent 
appeals.  Word  came  to  Dr.  Vincent  who  speedily 
marched  into  the  arena.  He  walked  upon  the 
platform,  held  up  his  hand  in  a  gesture  compelling 
silence,  and  calling  upon  the  self-appointed  leader 
by  name,  said : 

"This  meeting  is  not  on  the  program,  nor  ap- 
pointed by  the  authorities,  and  it  cannot  be  held." 


THE  BEGINNINGS  45 

"What?"  spoke  up  the  praying-band  com- 
mander. ' '  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  we  can't  have 
a  service  of  song  and  prayer  on  these  grounds? " 

"Yes,"  replied  Dr.  Vincent,  "I  do  mean  it. 
No  meeting  of  any  kind  can  be  held  without  the 
order  of  the  authorities.  You  should  have  come  to 
me  for  permission  to  hold  this  service." 

The  man  was  highly  offended,  gathered  up  his 
books,  and  left  the  grounds  on  the  next  day.  He 
would  have  departed  at  once,  but  it  was  Sunday, 
and  the  gates  were  closed.  Let  it  be  said,  however,  , 
that  six  months  later,  when  he  had  thought  it 
over,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Vincent  an  ample  apology 
for  his  conduct  and  said  that  he  had  not  realized 
the  difference  between  a  camp  meeting  and  a 
Sunday  School  Assembly.  He  ended  by  an  urgent 
request  that  Dr.  Vincent  should  come  to  the  camp 
ground  at  Round  Lake,  of  which  he  was  president, 
should  organize  and  conduct  an  assembly  to  be 
an  exact  copy  of  Chautauqua  in  its  program  and 
speakers,  with  all  the  resources  of  Round  Lake  at 
his  command.  His  invitation  was  accepted.  In 
due  time,  with  this  man's  loyal  support,  Dr. 
Vincent  organized  and  set  in  motion  the  Round 
Lake  Assembly,  upon  the  Chautauqua  pattern, 
which  continues  to  this  day,  true  to  the  ideals  of 
the  founder. 


44       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

theater  may  notice  that  before  every  public  service, 
the  janitor  places  just  the  number  of  chairs  needed, 
and  no  more.  This  is  one  of  the  Chautauqua 
traditions,  begun  under  the  Vincent  regime. 

Before  we  come  to  the  more  serious  side  of  our 
story  let  us  notice  another  instance  of  the  contrast 
between  the  camp  meeting  and  Chautauqua.  A 
widely  known  Methodist  came,  bringing  with  him 
a  box  of  revival  song-books,  compiled  by  himself. 
He  was  a  leader  of  a  "praying  band, "  and  accus- 
tomed to  hold  meetings  where  the  enthusiasm  was 
pumped  up  to  a  high  pitch.  One  Sunday  at  a  cer- 
tain hour  he  noticed  that  the  Auditorium  in  the 
grove  was  unoccupied;  and  gathering  a  group  of 
friends  with  warm  hearts  and  strong  voices,  he 
mounted  the  platform  and  in  stentorian  tones 
began  a  song  from  his  own  book.  The  sound 
brought  people  from  all  the  tents  and  cottages 
around,  and  soon  his  meeting  was  in  full  blast, 
with  increasing  numbers  responding  to  his  ardent 
appeals.  Word  came  to  Dr.  Vincent  who  speedily 
marched  into  the  arena.  He  walked  upon  the 
platform,  held  up  his  hand  in  a  gesture  compelling 
silence,  and  calling  upon  the  self-appointed  leader 
by  name,  said : 

"This  meeting  is  not  on  the  program,  nor  ap- 
pointed by  the  authorities,  and  it  cannot  be  held." 


THE  BEGINNINGS  45 

"What?"  spoke  up  the  praying-band  com- 
mander. ' ' Do  you  mean  to  say  that  we  can't  have 
a  service  of  song  and  prayer  on  these  grounds? " 

"Yes,"  replied  Dr.  Vincent,  "I  do  mean  it. 
No  meeting  of  any  kind  can  be  held  without  the 
order  of  the  authorities.  You  should  have  come  to 
me  for  permission  to  hold  this  service." 

The  man  was  highly  offended,  gathered  up  his 
books,  and  left  the  grounds  on  the  next  day.  He 
would  have  departed  at  once,  but  it  was  Sunday, 
and  the  gates  were  closed.  Let  it  be  said,  however, 
that  six  months  later,  when  he  had  thought  it 
over,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Vincent  an  ample  apology 
for  his  conduct  and  said  that  he  had  not  realized 
the  difference  between  a  camp  meeting  and  a 
Sunday  School  Assembly.  He  ended  by  an  urgent 
request  that  Dr.  Vincent  should  come  to  the  camp 
ground  at  Round  Lake,  of  which  he  was  president, 
should  organize  and  conduct  an  assembly  to  be 
an  exact  copy  of  Chautauqua  in  its  program  and 
speakers,  with  all  the  resources  of  Round  Lake  at 
his  command.  His  invitation  was  accepted.  In 
due  time,  with  this  man's  loyal  support,  Dr. 
Vincent  organized  and  set  in  motion  the  Round 
Lake  Assembly,  upon  the  Chautauqua  pattern, 
which  continues  to  this  day,  true  to  the  ideals  of 
the  founder. 


46       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

One  unique  institution  on  the  Fair  Point  of  those 
early  days  must  not  be  omitted — the  Park  of 
Palestine.  Following  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Vin- 
cent's church  lawn  model  of  the  Holy  Land,  Dr. 
Wythe  of  Meadville,  an  adept  in  other  trades 
than  physic  and  preaching,  constructed  just  above 
the  pier  on  the  lake  shore  a  park  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  long,  and  seventy-five  feet  wide, 
shaped  to  represent  in  a  general  way  the  contour 
of  the  Holy  Land.  It  was  necessary  to  make  the 
elevations  six  times  greater  than  longitudinal 
measurements;  and  if  one  mountain  is  made  six 
times  as  large  as  it  should  be,  some  other  hills  less 
prominent  in  the  landscape  or  less  important  in 
the  record  must  be  omitted.  The  lake  was  taken 
to  represent  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  on  the 
Sea-Coast  Plain  were  located  the  cities  of  the 
Philistines,  north  of  them  Joppa  and  Caesarea, 
and  far  beyond  them  on  the  shore,  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
The  Mountain  Region  showed  the  famous  places 
of  Israelite  history  from  Beersheba  to  Dan,  with 
the  sacred  mountains  Olivet  and  Zion,  Ebal  and 
Gerizim  having  Jacob's  Well  beside  them,  Gilboa 
with  its  memories  of  Gideon's  victory  and  King 
Saul's  defeat,  the  mountain  on  whose  crown  our 
Lord  preached  his  sermon,  and  overtopping  all, 
Hermon,  where  he  was  transfigured.  From  two 


THE  BEGINNINGS  47 

springs  flowed  little  rills  to  represent  the  sources 
of  the  River  Jordan  which  wound  its  way  down  the 
valley,  through  the  two  lakes,  Merom  and  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  ending  its  course  in  the  Dead  Sea. 
There  were  Jericho  and  the  Brook  Jabbok,  the 
clustered  towns  around  the  Galilean  Sea,  and  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Hermon,  Caesarea-Philippi. 
Across  the  Jordan  rose  the  Eastern  Tableland, 
with  its  mountains  and  valleys  and  brooks  and 
cities  even  as  far  as  Damascus. 

As  the  Assembly  was  an  experiment,  and  might 
be  transferred  later  to  other  parts  of  the  country, 
the  materials  for  this  Palestine  Park  were  some- 
what temporary.  The  mountains  were  made  of 
stumps,  fragments  of  timber,  filled  in  with  sawdust 
from  a  Mayville  mill,  and  covered  with  grassy  sods. 
But  the  park  constructed  from  makeshift  materials 
proved  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the 
encampment.  Groups  of  Bible  students  might  be 
seen  walking  over  it,  notebooks  in  their  hands, 
studying  the  sacred  places.  A  few  would  even 
pluck  and  preserve  a  spear  of  grass,  carefully  en- 
shrining it  in  an  envelope  duly  marked.  A  report 
went  abroad,  indeed,  that  soil  from  the  Holy  Land 
itself  had  been  spread  upon  the  park,  constituting 
it  a  sort  of  Campo  Santo,  but  this  claim  was  never 
endorsed  by  either  its  architect  or  its  originator. 


48       THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

The  park  of  Palestine  still  stands,  having  been  rebuilt 
several  times,  enlarged  to  a  length  of  350  feet,  and 
now,  as  I  write,  with  another  restoration  promised. 

One  fact  in  this  sacred  geography  must  needs  be 
stated,  in  the  interests  of  exact  truth.  In  order 
to  make  use  of  the  lake  shore,  north  had  to  be  in 
the  south,  and  east  in  the  west.  Chautauqua  has 
always  been  under  a  despotic  though  paternal 
government,  and  its  visitors  easily  accommodate 
themselves  to  its  decrees.  But  the  sun  persists  in 
its  independence,  rises  over  Chautauqua' s  Medi- 
terranean Sea  where  it  should  set,  and  continues 
its  sunset  over  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  where  it 
should  rise.  Dr.  Vincent  and  Lewis  Miller  could 
bring  to  pass  some  remarkable,  even  seemingly 
impossible,  achievements,  but  they  were  not  able 
to  outdo  Joshua,  and  not  only  make  the  sun  stand 
still,  but  set  it  moving  in  a  direction  opposite  to  its 
natural  course. 

In  one  of  his  inimitable  speeches,  Frank  Beard 
said  that  Palestine  Park  had  been  made  the  model 
for  all  the  beds  on  Fair  Point.  He  slept,  as  he  as- 
serted, on  Palestine,  with  his  head  on  Mount 
Hermon,  his  body  sometimes  in  the  Jordan  valley, 
at  other  times  on  the  mountains  of  Ephraim ;  and 
one  night  when  it  rained,  he  found  his  feet  in  the 
Dead  Sea. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  49 

In  the  early  days  of  Chautauqua  a  tree  was 
standing  near  Palestine  Park,  which  invited  the 
attention  of  every  child,  and  many  grown  folks. 
It  was  called  "the  spouting  tree."  Dr.  Wythe 
found  a  tree  with  one  branch  bent  over  near  the 
ground  and  hollow.  He  placed  a  water-pipe  in  the 
branch  and  sent  a  current  of  fresh  water  through  it, 
so  that  the  tree  seemed  to  be  pouring  forth  water. 
At  all  times  a  troop  of  children  might  be  seen 
around  it.  At  least  one  little  girl  made  her  father 
walk  down  every  day  to  the  wonder,  to  the  neglect 
of  other  walks  on  the  Assembly  ground.  After- 
ward at  home  from  an  extended  tour,  they  asked 
her  what  was  the  most  wonderful  thing  that  she 
had  seen  in  her  journey.  They  expected  her  to  say, 
"Niagara  Falls,"  but  without  hesitation  she  an- 
swered, "The  tree  that  spouted  water  at  Chautau- 
qua." The  standards  of  greatness  in  the  eyes  of 
childhood  differ  from  those  of  the  grown-up  folks. 

The  true  Chautauqua,  aided  as  it  was  by  the 
features  of  mirth  and  entertainment  and  repartee, 
was  in  the  daily  program  followed  diligently  by  the 
assembled  thousands.  Here  is  in  part  the  schedule, 
taken  from  the  printed  report.  It  was  opened  on 
Tuesday  evening,  August  4,  1874,  in  the  out-of- 
doors  auditorium,  now  Miller  Park,  beginning  with 
a  brief  responsive  service  of  Scripture  and  song, 


50       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

prepared  by  Dr.  Vincent.  Chautauqua  clings  to 
ancient  customs;  and  that  same  service,  word  for 
word,  has  been  rendered  every  year  on  the  first 
Tuesday  evening  in  August,  at  what  is  known  as 
"Old  First  Night." 

Bishop  Vincent  afterward  wrote  of  that  memo- 
rable first  meeting : 

The  stars  were  out,  and  looked  down  through 
trembling  leaves  upon  a  goodly  well-wrapped  com- 
pany, who  sat  in  the  grove,  filled  with  wonder  and 
hope.  No  electric  light  brought  platform  and  people 
face  to  face  that  night.  The  old-fashioned  pine  fires 
on  rude  four-legged  stands  covered  with  earth,  burned 
with  unsteady,  flickering  flame,  now  and  then  break- 
ing into  brilliancy  by  the  contact  of  a  resinous  stick 
of  the  rustic  fireman,  who  knew  how  to  snuff  candles 
and  how  to  turn  light  on  the  crowd  of  campers-out. 
The  white  tents  around  the  enclosure  were  very  beau- 
tiful in  that  evening  light. 

At  this  formal  opening  on  August  4,  1874,  brief 
addresses  were  given  by  Dr.  Vincent  and  by  a 
Baptist,  a  Presbyterian,  a  Methodist,  and  a  Con- 
gregational pastor.  This  opening  showed  the 
broad  brotherhood  which  was  to  mark  the  history 
of  Chautauqua. 

On  the  next  day,  Wednesday,  began  what  might 
be  called  the  school  sessions  of  the  Assembly.  The 
fourteen  days  were  divided  into  three  terms. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  51 

Every  morning  at  8  o'clock  a  brief  service  of  prayer 
and  Bible  reading  began  the  day  in  the  auditorium, 
now  Miller  Park.  At  8: 15  during  the  first  term, 
August  4th-9th,  a  conference  was  held  of  Normal 
Class  and  Institute  conductors,  at  which  reports 
were  rendered  of  work  done,  courses  of  study,  and 
methods  of  work,  and  results  obtained.  In  those 
days  when  training  classes  for  Sunday  School 
teachers  were  almost  unknown,  this  series  of  con- 
ferences, attended  by  hundreds  of  workers,  proved 
of  infinite  value,  and  set  in  motion  classes  in  many 
places.  At  9  o'clock,  section  meetings  were  held 
for  superintendents  and  pastors,  and  teachers  of 
the  different  grades,  from  the  primary  class  to  the 
adult  Bible  class. 

The  Normal  Class  held  its  sessions  during  the 
second  term,  from  August  ioth-i3th,  and  the  third 
term,  August  I4th-i8th.  Four  classes  were  held 
simultaneously  in  different  tents,  with  teachers 
changed  each  day.  At  these  classes  most  of  the 
lessons  were  on  the  Bible — its  Evidences,  Books  and 
Authors,  Geography,  History,  and  Interpretation. 
The  topics  pertaining  to  the  teacher  and  the  class 
were  taken  up  in  the  different  conferences.  The 
Normal  Class  was  held  to  be  the  core  and  life  of  the 
Assembly,  and  everybody  was  urged  to  attend  its 
sessions.  All  whose  names  began  with  letters  from 


52       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

A  to  G  were  to  attend  regularly  Tent  A.  Those 
with  initials  from  H  to  M  were  to  go  to  Tent  Bf 
and  so  on  through  the  alphabet,  to  the  four  Normal 
Tents.  But  the  students  soon  found  their  favorite 
teachers,  would  watch  for  them,  and  follow  them 
into  their  different  tents.  There  was  another  in- 
fraction of  the  program.  The  blackboard  was  a 
new  feature  in  Sunday  School  work,  and  not 
enough  blackboards  of  good  quality  had  been 
secured.  Some  were  too  small,  some  were  not  black 
enough,  and  one  was  painted  with  the  lines  for 
music.  It  is  reported  that  some  of  the  teachers 
bribed  the  janitor  to  provide  for  their  use  the  good 
boards.  There  is  even  the  tale  that  a  Sunday 
School  leader  was  seen  stealing  a  blackboard  and 
replacing  it  in  another's  tent  by  an  inferior  one. 
We  humbly  trust  that  this  report  was  false. 

That  the  Normal  Class,  the  conferences,  and  the 
lectures  on  Sunday  School  work  were  taken  seri- 
ously is  shown  by  the  report  of  the  written  examina- 
tion, held  on  Monday,  August  I7th,  the  day  before 
the  Assembly  closed.  More  than  two  hundred 
people  sat  down  in  the  Tabernacle  on  the  hill, 
each  furnished  with  fifty  questions  on  the  Bible 
and  the  Sunday  School.  Twenty  or  more  dropped 
out,  but  at  the  end  of  the  nearly  five  hours 'wrestling 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  papers  were  handed 


THE  BEGINNINGS  53 

in.  Three  of  these  were  marked  absolutely  per- 
fect, those  of  the  Rev.  C.  P.  Hard,  on  his  way  to 
India  as  a  missionary,  Mr.  Caleb  Sadler  of  Iowa, 
and  the  Rev.  Samuel  McGerald  of  New  York. 
Ninety-two  were  excellent,  fifty  more  were  passed, 
making  one  hundred  and  forty-five  accepted 
members  of  the  Normal  Alumni  Association; 
eighteen  had  their  papers  returned  to  be  rewritten 
after  further  study,  and  the  lowest  fourteen  were 
consigned  to  the  wastebasket. 

The  Western  Christian  Advocate  gave  a  picture 
of  the  first  normal  examination  at  Chautauqua, 
which  we  republish. 

The  tent  is  a  very  large  one,  and  was  plentifully  sup- 
plied with  benches,  chairs,  camp-stools,  etc.  The 
spectacle  was  very  imposing.  The  ladies  seemed  a 
little  in  the  majority.  There  were  two  girls  under 
fifteen,  and  one  boy  in  his  fourteenth  year.  Each  was 
provided  with  paper,  and  each  wore  a  more  or  less 
silent  and  thoughtful  air.  There  was  no  shuffling,  no 
listlessness,  no  whispering.  The  conductor,  with  a 
big  stump  for  his  table,  occupied  a  somewhat  central 
position,  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of  any  uplifted 
hand.  We  stood  just  back  of  Dr.  Vincent,  with  the 
scene  in  full  view.  To  our  right,  but  a  little  on  the 
outside  of  the  tent,  were  Bishop  Simpson  and  Dr. 
Thomas  M.  Eddy,  who  remained  only  a  few  minutes, 
as  the  latter  was  compelled  to  take  the  ten  o'clock 
train  for  New  York.  On  the  same  side,  and  a  little 


54       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

nearer  to  us,  were  groups  of  visitors,  mostly  from  the 
country  adjacent,  who  gazed  in  rapt  astonishment  at 
the  sight  before  them,  not  daring  to  inquire  the  mean- 
ing of  all  this  mute  array  of  paper  and  pencil.  A  little 
to  our  left  was  a  lawyer  of  large  experience  and  almost 
national  fame,  who  had  removed  his  hat,  collar,  coat 
and  cuffs;  just  by  his  side  was  an  ex-State  senator; 
and  a  little  further  on  was  a  boy  from  Iowa.  He  had 
improvised  for  his  table  a  small  round  log,  and  had 
gathered  together  for  the  better  resting  of  his  knees,  a 
good-sized  pile  of  dry  beech-leaves.  This  lad,  we 
learned,  had  been  studying  the  Normal  course  during 
the  last  year;  and  we  further  discovered  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  answering  accurately  all  but  ten  or  twelve  of 
the  fifty  questions,  one  of  the  to  him  insoluble  and 
incomprehensible  being,  "What  is  the  relation  of  the 
church  to  the  Sunday  School?"  Nearly  in  front 
of  the  conductor  were  two  veteran  spectacled  sisters, 
who  at  no  time  whispered  to  each  other,  but  kept  up  a 
strong  thinking  and  a  frequent  use  of  the  pencil. 
Near  these  sat  a  mother  and  daughter  from  Evanston, 
Illinois,  silent  and  confident.  On  the  outer  row  of 
seats  we  observed  three  doctors  of  divinity,  a  theo- 
logical student,  the  president  of  an  Ohio  college,  a 
gentleman  connected  with  the  internal  revenue,  and 
a  lady  principal  of  a  young  ladies'  seminary,  all  with 
their  thinking-caps  admirably  adjusted. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  and  forty  minutes  a  New 
York  brother,  who  had  been  especially  active  in 
sectional  work,  held  up  his  hand  in  token  of  success, 
and  his  paper  was  passed  up  to  Dr.  Vincent.  Shortly 
afterward  another  made  a  similar  signal;  but  nearly  all 
occupied  over  three  hours  in  the  work.  Over  one  half 
attained  to  seventy-five  or  eighty  per  cent. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  55 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  no  matter  how  long 
the  student  was  compelled  to  remain,  even  long 
past  the  dinner  hour,  he  was  not  permitted  to  take 
a  recess  for  his  midday  meal.  He  must  stay  to  the 
end,  or  give  up  his  examination. 

The  report  of  the  Assembly  shows  twenty-two 
lectures  on  Sunday  School  work,  theory,  and  prac- 
tice; sectional  meetings — nine  primary,  six  inter- 
mediate, one  senior,  five  of  pastors  and  superin- 
tendents, eight  normal  class  and  institute  con- 
ductors* conferences;  six  Normal  Classes  in  each 
of  the  four  tents — twenty-four  in  all ;  three  teachers' 
meetings  for  preparation  of  the  Sunday  School 
lesson;  four  Bible  readings;  three  praise  services; 
two  children's  meetings ;  and  six  sermons.  All  the 
leading  Protestant  churches  were  represented ;  and 
twenty -five  States  in  the  Union,  besides  Ontario, 
Montreal,  Nova  Scotia,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and 
India.  Among  the  preachers  we  find  the  names  of 
Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  editor  of  the  Sunday  School 
Times y  John  B.  Gough,  Bishops  Simpson  and 
Janes,  Dr.  James  M.  Buckley,  Dr.  Charles  F. 
Deems,  Dr.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  and  four  minis- 
ters who  later  became  bishops  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church:— Drs.  H.  W.  Warren,  J.  F. 
Hurst,  E.  O.  Haven,  and  C.  H.  Fowler. 

The  two  Sundays,  August  9th  and  i6th,  were 


56        THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

golden  days  in  the  calendar.  An  atmosphere  of 
quiet  and  peace  reigned  throughout  the  grounds. 
No  steamboats  made  the  air  discordant  around  the 
pier ;  the  gates  were  closed  and  the  steamers  sailed 
by  to  more  welcome  stations;  no  excursion  trains 
brought  curious  and  noisy  throngs  of  sightseers. 
Tents  and  cottages  lay  open  while  their  dwellers 
worshiped  under  the  trees  of  the  Auditorium,  for 
no  one  was  required  to  watch  against  thieves  in  the 
crowd.  The  world  was  shut  out,  and  a  voice 
seemed  to  be  saying,  "Come  ye  yourselves  apart 
and  rest  awhile." 

The  day  began  with  a  Sundav  School  graded  to 
embrace  both  young  and  old.  The  riches  of  officers 
and  teachers  formed  an  embarrassment.  For  once, 
nay  twice  (for  there  were  two  Sundays),  a  Super- 
intendent had  at  call  more  instructors  than  he 
could  supply  with  classes.  On  each  Sunday  the 
attendance  at  the  school  was  fifteen  hundred. 

At  the  sunset  hour  each  evening  an  "Eventide 
Conference  "  was  held  on  the  lake  side.  The  dying 
day,  the  peaceful  surroundings,  the  calm  sheet  of 
water,  the  mild  air,  combined  to  impart  a  tone  of 
thoughtful,  uplifting  meditation.  I  have  heard  old 
Chautauquans  speak  many  times  of  the  inspiring 
spiritual  atmosphere  breathed  in  the  very  air  of 
the  first  Chautauqua. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  57 

Never  before  had  been  brought  together  for 
conference  and  for  study  so  many  leaders  in  the 
Sunday  School  army,  representing  so  large  a 
variety  of  branches  in  the  church  catholic.  And  it 
was  not  for  a  day  or  two  days  as  in  conventions 
and  institutes,  but  for  a  solid  fortnight  of  steady 
work.  The  Chautauqua  of  to-day  is  a  widely 
reaching  educational  system,  embracing  almost 
every  department  of  knowledge.  But  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  all  this  wide  realm  has  grown  out 
of  a  school  to  awaken,  instruct,  and  inspire  Sunday 
School  workers.  In  their  conception,  however,  the 
two  famous  founders  realized  that  all  truth,  even 
that  looked  upon  as  secular,  is  subsidiary,  even 
necessary  for  successful  teaching  of  the  word  of 
God.  Hence  with  the  courses  of  study  and  con- 
ferences upon  practical  details,  we  find  on  the 
program,  some  literature  and  science,  with  the 
spice  of  entertainment  and  amusement. 

The  conception  of  Dr.  Vincent  was  not  to  locate 
the  Assembly  in  one  place,  but  from  time  to  time 
to  hold  similar  meetings  on  many  camp  grounds, 
wherever  the  opportunity  arose.  There  is  a  sus- 
picion that  Lewis  Miller  held  his  own  secret  pur- 
pose to  make  it  so  successful  on  Chautauqua  Lake 
as  to  insure  its  permanent  location  at  Fair  Point. 
That  was  a  wise  plan,  for  with  settlement  in  one 


58       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

place,  buildings  could  be  erected,  and  features 
like  Palestine  Park  could  be  increased  and  im- 
proved. Whether  it  was  by  a  suggestion  or  a 
common  impulse,  on  the  last  day  of  the  Assembly 
a  meeting  was  held  and  a  unanimous  appeal  was 
presented  to  make  Fair  Point  the  home  of  the 
Assembly.  The  trustees  of  the  camp  meeting 
shared  in  the  sentiment  and  offered  to  receive  new 
members  representing  the  Assembly  constituency. 
As  a  result,  the  officiary  was  reorganized,  no  longer 
as  a  camp  meeting  but  as  an  Assembly  Board. 
For  two  years  Fair  Point  was  continued  as  the 
name  of  the  Post  Office,  although  the  title  "Chau- 
tauqua  Sunday  School  Assembly"  was  adopted. 
But  soon  Fair  Point  became  "Chautauqua"  on 
the  list  of  the  Post  Office  Department,  and  the  old 
name  lingers  only  in  the  memory  of  old  Chau- 
tauquans. 

Before  we  leave  that  pioneer  Chautauqua,  we 
must  recall  some  of  its  aspects,  which  might  be 
forgotten  in  these  later  days,  at  once  amusing, 
perplexing,  and  sometimes  trying.  More  steamers, 
great  and  small,  were  plying  Chautauqua's  waters 
than  at  the  present  under  the  steamboat  corpora- 
tion system.  Old  Chautauquans  will  remember 
that  ancient  three-decker,  The  Jamestown,  with  its 
pair  of  stern  wheels,  labeled  respectively  "Vincent" 


THE  BEGINNINGS  59 

and  "  Miller."  Each  steamer  was  captained  by  its 
owner;  and  there  was  often  a  congestion  of  boats 
at  the  pier,  especially  after  the  arrival  of  an  excur- 
sion train.  Those  were  not  the  days  of  standard 
time,  eastern  and  central,  with  watches  set  an  hour 
fast  or  slow  at  certain  well-known  points.  Each 
boat  followed  its  own  standard  of  time,  which 
might  be  New  York  time,  Buffalo  or  Pittsburgh 
time,  forty  minutes  slower,  or  even  Columbus  or 
Cincinnati  time,  slower  still.  Railroads  crossing 
Ohio  were  required  to  run  on  Columbus  time. 
When  you  were  selecting  a  steamer  from  the  thirty 
placards  on  the  bulletin  board  at  the  Fair  Point 
Post  office,  in  order  to  meet  an  Erie  train  at  Lake- 
wood,  unless  you  noticed  the  time-standard,  you 
might  find  at  the  pier  that  your  steamer  had  gone 
forty  minutes  before,  or  on  arriving  at  Lakewood 
learn  that  your  boat  was  running  on  Cincinnati 
time,  and  you  were  three  quarters  of  an  hour  late 
for  the  train,  for  even  on  the  Erie  of  those  days, 
trains  were  not  always  an  hour  behind  time. 

Nor  was  this  variety  of  "time,  times,  and  half- 
time"  all  the  drawbacks.  When  news  came  that 
an  excursion  train  was  due  from  Buffalo,  every 
steamboat  on  the  lake  would  ignore  its  time-table 
and  the  needs  of  the  travelers;  and  all  would 
be  bunched  at  the  Mayville  dock  and  around  it  to 


60       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

catch  the  passengers.  Or  it  might  be  a  similar  but 
more  tangled  crowd  of  boats  in  the  Outlet  at  James- 
town to  meet  a  special  train  from  Pittsburgh. 
Haven't  I  seen  a  bishop  on  the  Fair  Point  pier,  who 
must  get  the  train  at  Lakewood  to  meet  his  con- 
ference in  Colorado,  scanning  the  landscape  with 
not  a  boat  in  sight,  all  piled  up  three  miles  away? 
Nor  were  the  arrangements  for  freight  and 
baggage  in  those  early  years  any  more  systematic 
than  those  for  transportation.  Although  Chau- 
tauqua  Lake  is  on  the  direct  line  of  travel  east  and 
west,  between  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  north 
and  south  between  Buffalo  and  Pittsburgh,  Fair 
Point,  the  seat  of  the  Assembly,  was  not  a  railroad 
station.  Luggage  could  be  checked  only  to  James- 
town, Lakewood,  or  Mayville,  and  thence  must  be 
sent  by  boat.  Its  destination  might  be  indicated 
by  a  tag  or  a  chalk  mark,  or  it  might  remain  un- 
marked. Imagine  a  steamer  deck  piled  high  with 
trunks,  valises,  bundles  of  blankets,  furniture, 
tent  equipment,  and  things  miscellaneous,  stopping 
at  a  dozen  points  along  the  lake  to  have  its  cargo 
assorted  and  put  ashore — is  it  strange  that  some 
baggage  was  left  at  the  wrong  place,  and  its  owner 
wandered  around  looking  vainly  for  his  property? 
One  man  remarked  that  the  only  way  to  be  sure 
of  your  trunk  was  to  sit  on  it;  but  what  if  your 


.5 

I   8 
a  s 

M     S 

.S  w 


THE  BEGINNINGS  61 

trunk  was  on  the  top  or  at  the  bottom  of  a  pile 
ten  feet  high?  Considering  all  the  difficulties  and 
discomforts  of  those  early  days — travel,  baggage, 
no  hotels  nor  boarding  houses,  a  crowded  dining 
hall  with  a  hungry  procession  outside  perhaps  in 
the  rain  waiting  for  seats  at  the  tables,  the  food 
itself  none  of  the  best — it  is  surprising  that  some 
thousands  of  people  not  only  found  the  Assembly, 
but  stayed  to  its  conclusion,  were  happy  in  it, 
lived  in  an  enchanted  land  for  a  fortnight,  and 
resolved  to  return  the  very  next  year !  More  than 
this,  they  carried  its  enthusiasm  and  its  ideals 
home  with  them  and  in  hundreds  of  places  far 
apart,  the  Sunday  Schools  began  to  assume  a  new 
and  higher  life.  Some  time  after  this,  but  still 
early  in  Chautauqua's  history,  a  prominent  Sun- 
day School  man  expressed  to  the  writer  his  opinion 
that  "people  who  came  home  from  Chautauqua 
became  either  a  mighty  help  or  a  mighty  nuisance. 
They  brought  with  them  more  new  ideas  than 
could  be  put  into  operation  in  ten  years;  and  if 
they  couldn't  get  them,  one  and  all,  adopted  at 
once  they  kicked  and  growled  incessantly." 

Before  we  leave  the  Assembly  of  1874,  we  must 
not  forget  to  name  one  of  its  most  powerful  and 
far-reaching  results — the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union.  This  assembly  was  held  soon  after 


62        THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  great  crusade  of  1874  in  Ohio,  when  multitudes 
of  women,  holding  prayer  meetings  on  the  sidewalk 
in  front  of  liquor  saloons  literally  prayed  thousands 
of  them  out  of  existence.  While  the  fire  of  the 
crusade  was  still  burning,  a  number  of  women  held 
meetings  at  Chautauqua  during  the  Assembly,  and 
took  counsel  together  concerning  the  best  measures 
to  promote  the  temperance  reform.  They  united 
in  a  call  signed  by  Mrs.  Mattie  McClellan  Brown, 
Mrs.  Jennie  Fowler  Willing,  Mrs.  Emily  Hunting- 
ton  Miller,  and  others,  for  a  convention  of  women 
to  be  held  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  November  17,  1874. 
At  this  convention,  sixteen  States  were  repre- 
sented, and  the  national  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  was  organized,  an  institution  which 
did  more  than  any  other  to  form  public  sentiment, 
to  make  State  after  State  "dry,"  and  finally  to 
establish  nation-wide  constitutional  prohibition. 
It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  this  mighty 
movement  began  at  the  first  Chautauqua  Assembly. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT 

CHAUTAUQUA  was  a  lusty  infant  when  it  entered 
upon  life  in  1874,  anc*  it  began  with  a  penetrating 
voice,  heard  afar.  Like  all  normal  babies  (normal 
seems  to  be  the  right  word  just  here)  it  began  to 
grow,  and  its  progress  in  the  forty-seven  years  of 
its  life  thus  far  (1920)  has  been  the  growth  of  a 
giant.  Territorially,  on  Chautauqua  Lake,  it  has 
enlarged  at  successive  stages  from  twenty  acres 
to  more  than  three  hundred  and  thirty  acres, 
impelled  partly  by  a  demand  of  its  increasing 
family  for  house-room,  educational  facilities,  and 
playgrounds,  partly  from  the  necessity  of  control- 
ling its  surroundings  to  prevent  occupation  by 
undesirable  neighbors.  There  has  been  another 
vast  expansion  in  the  establishment  of  Chautau- 
quas  elsewhere,  until  the  continent  is  now  dotted 
with  them.  A  competent  authority  informs  the 
writer  that  within  twelve  months  ten  thousand 
assemblies  bearing  the  generic  name  Chautauqua 
have  been  held  in  the  United  States  and  the  Domin- 

63 


64       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ion  of  Canada.  There  has  been  a  third  growth  in 
the  intellectual  sweep  of  its  plans.  We  have  seen 
how  it  began  as  a  system  of  training  for  teachers 
in  the  Sunday  School.  We  shall  trace  its  advance- 
ment into  the  wider  field  of  general  and  universal 
education,  a  school  in  every  department  and  for 
everybody  everywhere. 

To  at  least  one  pilgrim  the  Assembly  of  1875 
was  monumental,  for  it  marked  an  epoch  in  his 
life.  That  was  the  writer  of  this  volume,  who  in 
that  year  made  his  first  visit  to  Chautauqua. 
(The  general  reader  who  has  no  interest  in  personal 
reminiscences  may  omit  this  paragraph.)  He 
traveled  by  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  that  evening 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  saw  a  berth  made  up  in  a 
sleeping-car,  and  crawled  into  it.  If  in  his  dreams 
that  night,  a  vision  could  have  flashed  upon  his 
inward  eye  of  what  that  journey  was  to  bring  to 
him  in  the  coming  years,  he  might  have  deemed  it 
an  Arabian  Night's  dream.  For  that  visit  to  Chau- 
tauqua, not  suddenly  but  in  the  after  years, 
changed  the  entire  course  of  his  career.  It  sent 
him  to  Chautauqua  thus  far  for  forty-six  successive 
seasons,  and  perhaps  may  round  him  out  in  a  semi- 
centennial. It  took  him  out  of  a  parsonage,  and 
made  him  an  itinerant  on  a  continent-wide  scale. 
It  put  him  into  Dr.  Vincent's  office  as  an  assistant, 


THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT         65 

and  later  in  his  chair  as  his  successor.  It  dropped 
him  down  through  the  years  at  Chautauqua 
assemblies  in  almost  half  of  the  States  of  this 
Union.  On  Tuesday  morning,  August  3,  1875,  I 
left  the  train  at  Jamestown,  rode  across  the  city, 
and  embarked  in  a  steamer  for  a  voyage  up  the 
lake.  As  we  slowly  wound  our  way  through  the 
Outlet — it  was  on  the  old  steamer  Jamestown 
which  was  never  an  ocean-greyhound — I  felt  like 
an  explorer  in  some  unknown  river.  Over  the  old 
pier  at  Fair  Point  was  the  sign,  "  National  S.  S. 
Assembly,"  and  beneath  it  I  stepped  ashore  on 
what  seemed  almost  a  holy  ground,  for  my  first 
walk  was  through  Palestine  Park.  On  Friday, 
August  6th,  I  gave  a  normal  lesson,  the  first  in  my 
life,  with  fear  and  trembling.  It  was  on  "the  city 
of  Jerusalem,"  and  I  had  practiced  on  the  map 
until  I  thought  that  I  could  draw  it  without  a  copy. 
But,  alas,  one  of  the  class  must  needs  come  to  the 
blackboard  and  set  my  askew  diagram  in  the  right 
relations.  Twenty  years  afterward,  at  an  assembly 
in  Kansas,  an  old  lady  spoke  to  me  after  a  lesson, 
"I  saw  you  teach  your  first  lesson  at  Chautauqua. 
You  said  that  you  had  never  taught  a  normal  class 
before,  and  I  thought  it  was  the  solemn  truth. 
You've  improved  since  then!" 

Some  new  features  had  been   added   to  the 


66       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

grounds  since  the  first  Assembly.  Near  Palestine 
Park  was  standing  a  fine  model  of  modern  Jeru- 
salem and  its  surrounding  hills,  so  exact  in  its 
reproduction  that  one  day  a  bishop  pointed  out  the 
identical  building  wherein  he  had  lodged  when 
visiting  the  city — the  same  hostel,  by  the  way, 
where  this  writer  stayed  afterward  in  1897,  and 
from  whose  roof  he  took  his  first  view  of  the  holy 
places.  Near  Palestine  Park,  an  oriental  house 
had  been  constructed,  with  rooms  in  two  stories 
around  an  open  court.  These  rooms  were  filled 
with  oriental  and  archaeological  curiosities,  making 
it  a  museum ;  and  every  day  Dr.  A.  O.  Von  Lennep, 
a  Syrian  by  birth,  stood  on  its  roof  and  gave  in 
Arabic  the  Mohammedan  call  to  prayer.  I  failed 
to  observe,  however,  the  people  at  Chautauqua 
prostrating  themselves  at  the  summons.  Indeed, 
some  of  them  actually  mocked  the  make-believe 
muezzin  before  his  face.  On  the  hill,  near  the 
Dining  Hall,  stood  a  sectional  model  of  the  great 
pyramid,  done  in  lath  and  plaster,  as  if  sliced  in 
two  from  the  top  downward,  half  of  it  being  shown, 
and  the  room  inside  of  it  indicated.  Also  there  was 
a  model  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  Wilderness, 
covered  with  its  three  curtains,  and  containing 
within  an  altar,  table,  and  candlestick.  Daily 
lectures  were  given  before  it  by  the  Rev.  J.  S. 


THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT         67 

Ostrander,  wearing  the  miter,  robe,  and  breast- 
plate of  the  high  priest. 

The  evolution  of  the  Chautauqua  Idea  made 
some  progress  at  the  second  Assembly.  Instead  of 
eight  sessions  of  the  Normal  Class,  two  were  held 
daily.  The  program  report  says  that  fifty  normal 
sessions  were  held ;  regularly  two  each  day,  one  at 
8  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  a  Bible  topic.  Break- 
fast must  be  rushed  through  at  seven  to  brace  up 
the  students  for  their  class.  Another  was  held  at 
3:30,  on  some  subject  pertaining  to  the  pupil  or 
the  teacher;  with  extra  sessions  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  specified  course.  A  class  in  Hebrew  was 
held  daily  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Vail,  and  attended  by  forty 
students.  Dr.  Vail  had  been  for  many  years  pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew  in  the  earliest  Methodist  theo- 
logical school,  the  Biblical  Institute  at  Concord, 
New  Hampshire,  which  afterward  became  the 
School  of  Theology  in  Boston  University.  Dr. 
Vail  was  an  enthusiast  in  his  love  of  Hebrew 
language  and  literature.  One  who  occupied  a  tent 
with  him — all  the  workers  of  that  season  were 
lodged  in  a  row  of  little  tents  on  Terrace  Avenue, 
two  in  each  tent — averred  that  his  trunk  contained 
only  a  Hebrew  Bible  (he  didn't  need  a  lexicon) 
and  a  clean  shirt. 

Besides  the  class  in  Hebrew,  Madame  Kriege  of 


68       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

New  York  conducted  a  class  in  kindergarten 
teaching,  and  Dr.  Tourjee  of  Boston,  W.  F.  Sher- 
win,  and  C.  C.  Case  held  classes  in  singing.  All 
these  were  supposedly  for  Sunday  School  teachers, 
but  they  proved  to  be  the  thin  end  of  the  wedge 
opening  the  way  for  the  coming  summer  school. 

Even  more  strongly  than  at  the  earlier  session, 
the  Normal  Class,  with  a  systematic  course  of 
instruction  in  the  Bible  and  Sunday  School  work, 
was  made  the  center  of  the  program.  It  is  signifi- 
cant of  the  importance  assigned  to  this  department 
that  for  several  years,  no  other  meeting,  great  or 
small,  was  permitted  at  the  normal  hours.  The  camp 
must  either  attend  the  classes  or  stay  in  its  tents. 

At  this  session,  Mrs.  Frank  Beard,  noting  the 
insistent  announcement  of  the  Normal  Classes,  and 
the  persistent  urging  that  everybody  attend  them, 
was  moved  to  verse.  As  true  poetry  is  precious,  her 
effusion  is  here  given: 

To  Chautauqua  went 

On  pleasure  bent 
A  youth  and  maiden  fair. 

Working  in  the  convention 

Was  not  their  intention, 
But  to  drive  away  dull  care. 

Along  came  John  V — 

And  what  did  he  see 
But  this  lover  and  his  lass. 


THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT         69 

Says  he,  "You  must 
Get  up  and  dust 
And  go  to  the  Normal  Class." 

The  great  event  in  the  Assembly  of  '75  was  the 
visit  of  General  U.  S.  Grant,  then  President  of  the 
United  States  on  his  second  term.  It  was  brought 
about  partly  because  of  the  long-time  friendship 
of  the  General  with  Dr.  Vincent,  dating  back  to 
the  Galena  pastorate  of  1860  and  '61,  but  also 
through  the  influence  and  activity  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Theodore  L.  Flood,  who  though  a  successful 
Methodist  minister  was  also  somewhat  of  a  poli- 
tician. The  President  and  his  party  came  up  from 
Jamestown  on  a  steamer-yacht,  and  at  Fair  Point 
were  lodged  in  the  tent  beside  the  Lewis  Miller 
cottage.  True  to  his  rule  while  General  and 
President,  Grant  made  no  speech  in  public,  not 
even  when  a  handsomely  bound  Bagster  Bible 
was  presented  to  him  in  behalf  of  the  assembly. 
Those  were  the  palmy  days  of  "Teachers'  Bibles," 
with  all  sorts  of  helps  and  tables  as  appendices; 
and  at  that  time  the  Bagster  and  the  American 
Tract  Society  were  rivals  for  the  Sunday  School 
constituency.  Not  to  be  outdone  by  their  com- 
petitors, the  Tract  Society's  representative  at 
Chautauqua  also  presented  one  of  his  Bibles  to 
the  President.  One  can  scarcely  have  too  many 


70        THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Bibles,  and  the  General  may  have  found  use  for 
both  of  them.  He  received  them  with  a  nod  but 
never  a  word.  Yet  those  who  met  him  at  dinners 
and  in  social  life  said  that  in  private  he  was  a  de- 
lightful talker  and  by  no  means  reticent.  The 
tents  and  cottages  on  the  Chautauqua  of  those 
days  were  taxed  to  almost  bursting  capacity  to 
house  the  multitude  over  the  Sunday  of  the  Presi- 
dent's visit.  As  many  more  would  have  come  on 
that  day,  if  the  rules  concerning  Sabbath  observ- 
ance had  been  relaxed,  as  some  had  expected. 
But  the  authorities  were  firm,  the  gates  by  lake 
and  land  were  kept  closed,  and  that  Sunday  was 
like  all  other  Sundays  at  Chautauqua. 

At  the  close  of  the  Assembly,  the  normal  examina- 
tions were  given  to  190  students;  some  left  the 
tent  in  terror  after  reading  over  the  questions,  but 
130  struggled  to  the  end  and  handed  in  their 
papers,  of  which  123  were  above  the  passing  grade. 
There  were  now  two  classes  of  graduates,  and  the 
Chautauqua  Normal  Alumni  Association  was 
organized.  Mr.  Otis  F.  Presbrey  of  Washington, 
D.  C.  (the  man  who  on  a  certain  occasion  "looked 
like  sixty"),  was  its  first  president.  The  secretary 
chosen  was  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Worden,  a  Presbyterian 
pastor  at  Steubenville,  Ohio,  and  one  of  the  normal 
teachers  at  Chautauqua;  who  afterward,  and  for 


Spouting  Tree  and  Oriental  House 


THE  EARLY  DEVELOPMENT         71 

many  years,  was  general  secretary  and  superinten- 
dent of  Sabbath  School  work  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

At  the  Assembly  of  1875,  a  quiet,  unassuming 
little  lady  was  present,  who  was  already  famous, 
and  helped  to  increase  the  fame  of  Chautauqua. 
This  was  Mrs.  G.  R.  Alden,  the  wife  of  a  Presby- 
terian pastor,  but  known  everywhere  as  'Tansy," 
whose  story-books  were  in  almost  every  Sunday 
School  library  on  the  continent.  She  wrote  a 
book,  Four  Girls  at  Chautauqua,  which  ingeniously 
wove  into  the  account  of  the  actual  events  of  the 
season,  including  some  of  its  rainy  days — that 
was  the  year  when  it  rained  more  or  less  on  four- 
teen of  the  seventeen  days  of  the  Assembly — her 
four  girls,  so  well  imagined  that  they  seemed  real. 
Indeed  when  one  read  the  account  of  one's  own 
speech  at  a  children's  meeting,  he  could  not  doubt 
that  the  Flossie  of  the  story  who  listened  to  it 
was  a  veritable  flesh  and  blood  girl  in  the  audience. 
The  story  became  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the 
Pansy  books,  brought  Chautauqua  to  the  attention 
of  many  thousands,  and  led  large  numbers  of 
people  to  Fair  Point.  Pansy  has  ever  been  a  true 
friend  of  Chautauqua,  and  has  written  several 
stories  setting  forth  its  attractions. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR 

THE  founders  of  Chautauqua  looked  forward  to 
its  third  session  with  mingled  interest  and  anxiety. 
It  was  the  centennial  year  of  American  Independ- 
ence, and  an  exposition  was  opening  in  Phila- 
delphia, far  more  noteworthy  in  its  buildings  and 
exhibits  than  any  previous  effort  in  the  annals  of 
the  nation.  The  World's  Fair  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  of  New  York,  in  1855,  the  first  attempt 
in  America  to  hold  an  universal  exposition,  was  a 
pigmy  compared  with  the  immense  display  in  the 
park  of  Philadelphia  on  the  centennial  year. 
Could  the  multitudes  from  every  State  and  from 
foreign  lands  be  attracted  from  Philadelphia  five 
hundred  miles  to  Chautauqua  Lake?  Had  the 
quest  of  the  American  people  for  new  interests 
been  satisfied  by  two  years  at  the  Assembly? 
Would  it  be  the  wiser  course  in  view  of  the  com- 
petition to  hold  merely  a  modest  little  gathering 
at  Fair  Point,  or  to  venture  boldly  upon  greater 
endeavors  than  ever  before;  to  enlarge  the  pro- 

72 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  73 

gram,  to  advertise  more  Widely,  and  to  compel 
attention  to  the  new  movement?  Anyone  who 
knew  the  adventurous,  aspiring  nature  of  both 
Miller  and  Vincent  would  unhesitatingly  answer 
these  questions. 

The  Assembly  of  1876  was  planned  upon  a  larger 
scale  than  ever  before.  The  formal  opening  took 
place  on  Tuesday  evening,  August  ist,  in  the 
forest-sheltered  Auditorium,  but  two  gatherings 
were  held  in  advance  and  a  third  after  its  conclu- 
sion, so  that  the  entire  program  embraced  twenty- 
four  days  instead  of  seventeen. 

The  first  meeting  was  the  Scientific  Conference, 
July  26th  to  28th,  aiming  both  to  present  science 
from  the  Christian  point  of  view,  and  Christianity 
from  the  scientific  point  of  view,  showing  the 
essential  harmony  between  them,  without  either 
subjecting  conclusions  of  science  to  church- 
authority  or  cutting  up  the  Bible  at  the  behest  of 
the  scientists.  There  had  been  frequent  battles 
between  the  theologians  and  the  students  of  nature 
and  the  "conflict  of  science  and  religion"  had  been 
strongly  in  evidence,  ever  since  the  publication  of 
Darwin's  Origin  of  Species  in  1859.  Most  pulpits 
had  uttered  their  thunders  against  "Darwinism," 
even  though  some  of  the  pulpiteers  had  never  read 
Darwin's  book,  nor  could  have  understood  it  if  they 


74       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

had  tried.  And  many  professors  who  had  never 
listened  to  a  gospel  sermon,  and  rarely  opened  their 
Bibles,  had  launched  lightnings  at  the  camp  of  the 
theologians.  But  here  was  something  new;  a 
company  of  scholars  including  Dr.  R.  Ogden 
Doremus  of  New  York,  Professor  A.  S.  Lattimore 
of  Rochester,  Dr.  Alexander  Winchell  of  Michigan, 
and  others  of  equal  standing,  on  the  same  platform 
with  eminent  preachers,  and  no  restraint  on  either 
side,  each  free  to  utter  his  convictions,  and  all 
certain  that  the  outcome  would  be  peace  and  not 
war. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  was  present  at  most 
of  those  lectures,  and  remembers  one  instance 
showing  that  the  province  of  science  is  in  the  past 
and  the  present  and  not  in  the  future.  Dr.  Dore- 
mus was  giving  some  brilliant  experiments  in  the 
newer  developments  of  electricity.  Be  it  remem- 
bered that  it  was  the  year  1876,  and  in  the  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  of  that  year  there  was  neither 
an  automobile,  a  trolley-car,  nor  an  electric  light. 
He  said,  "I  will  now  show  you  that  remarkable 
phenomenon — the  electric  light.  Be  careful  not 
to  gaze  at  it  too  steadily,  for  it  is  apt  to  dazzle 
the  beholder  and  may  injure  the  eyesight."  Then 
as  an  arc-light  of  a  crude  sort  flashed  and  sput- 
tered, and  fell  and  rose  again  only  to  sputter  and 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  75 

fall,  the  lecturer  said,  "Of  course,  the  electric 
light  is  only  an  interesting  experiment,  a  sort  of 
toy  to  amuse  spectators.  Every  effort  to  ulitize  it 
has  failed,  and  always  will  fail.  The  electric  light 
in  all  probability  will  never  be  of  any  practical  value. ' ' 

Yet  at  that  very  time,  Thomas  A.  Edison  in 
Menlo  Park,  New  Jersey,  was  perfecting  his 
incandescent  light,  and  only  three  years  later, 
1879,  Chautauqua  was  illuminated  throughout 
by  electricity.  When  the  scientist  turns  prophet 
he  becomes  as  fallible  as  the  preacher  who  assumes 
to  prescribe  limitations  to  scientific  discovery. 
We  live  in  an  age  of  harmony  and  mutual  helpful- 
ness between  science  and  religion ;  and  Chautauqua 
has  wrought  mightily  in  bringing  to  pass  the  new 
day. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  Chautauqua  holds  a 
connecting  link  with  "the  wizard  of  Llewellyn 
Park"  and  his  electric  light;  for  some  years  later 
Mr.  Edison  married  Miss  Mina  Miller,  daughter 
of  the  Founder  Lewis  Miller.  The  Miller  family, 
Founder,  sons,  daughters,  and  grandchildren,  have 
maintained  a  deep  interest  in  Chautauqua;  and 
the  Swiss  Cottage  at  the  head  of  Miller  Park  has 
every  year  been  occupied.  Representatives  of  the 
Miller  family  are  always  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees. 


76       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

After  the  Scientific  Conference  came  a  Temper- 
ance Congress,  on  July  2Qth  and  3Oth.  A  new 
star  had  arisen  in  the  firmament.  Out  of  a  little 
meeting  at  Chautauqua  in  1874,  had  grown  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  already  in 
1876  organized  in  every  State  and  in  pretty  nearly 
every  town.  Its  founders  had  chosen  for  President 
of  the  Union  a  young  woman  who  combined  in  one 
personality  the  consummate  orator  and  the  wise 
executive,  Miss  Frances  Elizabeth  Willard  of 
Evanston,  Illinois,  who  resigned  her  post  as  Dean 
of  the  Woman's  Department  of  the  Northwestern 
University  to  enter  upon  an  arduous,  a  lifelong 
and  world-wide  warfare  to  prohibit  intoxicants, 
and  as  a  means  to  that  end,  to  obtain  the  suffrage 
for  women.  Frances  Willard  died  in  1898,  but  if 
she  could  have  lived  until  1920  she  would  have  seen 
both  her  aims  accomplished  in  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States;  one  forbidding  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  all  alchoholic  liquors,  the  other  opening  the 
door  of  the  voting-booth  to  every  woman  in  the 
land.  In  Statuary  Hall,  Washington,  the  only  wo- 
man standing  in  marble  is  Frances  E.  Willard  (there 
will  be  others  later),  and  her  figure  is  there  among 
the  statesmen  and  warriors  of  the  nation's  history, 
by  vote  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 


Rustic  Bridge  over  Ravine 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  77 

At  every  step  in  the  progress  of  Chautauqua  the 
two  Founders  held  frequent  consultations.  Both 
of  them  belonged  to  the  progressive  school  of 
thought,  but  on  some  details  they  differed,  and 
woman's  sphere  was  one  of  their  points  of  dis- 
agreement. Miller  favored  women  on  the  Fair 
Point  platform,  but  Vincent  was  in  doubt  on  the 
subject.  Of  course  some  gifted  women  came  as 
teachers  of  teachers  in  the  primary  department  of 
the  Sunday  School,  but  on  the  program  their 
appearance  was  styled  a  "Reception  to  Primary 
Teachers  by  Mrs.  or  Miss  So-and-So."  Dr. 
Vincent  knew  Frances  E.  Willard,  admired  her, 
believed  honestly  that  she  was  one  of  the  very 
small  number  of  women  called  to  speak  in  public, 
and  he  consented  to  her  coming  to  Chautauqua  in 
the  Temperance  Congress  of  1876.  From  the  hour 
of  her  first  appearance  there  was  never  after  any 
doubt  as  to  her  enthusiastic  welcome  at  Chau- 
tauqua. No  orator  drew  larger  audiences  or  bound 
them  under  a  stronger  spell  by  eloquent  words 
than  did  Frances  Elizabeth  Willard.  Frances 
Willard  was  the  first  but  by  no  means  the  last 
woman  to  lecture  on  the  Chautauqua  platform. 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore  soon  followed  her,  and 
before  many  summers  had  passed,  Dr.  Vincent 
was  introducing  to  the  Chautauqua  constituency 


78       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

women  as  freely  as  men,  to  speak  on  the  questions 
of  the  time. 

Another  innovation  began  on  this  centennial 
season — The  Chautauqua  Assembly  Herald.  For 
two  years  the  Assembly  had  been  dependent 
upon  reports  by  newspaper  correspondents,  who 
came  to  the  ground  as  strangers,  with  no  share 
in  the  Chautauqua  spirit,  knowing  very  little  of 
Chautauqua's  aims,  and  eager  for  striking  para- 
graphs rather  than  accurate  records.  A  lecturer 
who  is  wise  never  reads  the  report  of  his  speech  in 
the  current  newspapers;  for  he  is  apt  to  tear  his 
hair  in  anguish  at  the  tale  of  his  utterances. 
Chautauqua  needed  an  organ,  and  Dr.  Theo- 
dore L.  Flood,  from  the  first  a  staunch  friend 
of  the  movement,  undertook  to  establish  a  daily 
paper  for  the  season.  The  first  number  of  the 
Herald  appeared  on  June  29,  1876,  with  Dr. 
Flood  as  editor,  and  Mr.  Milton  Bailey  of  James- 
town as  publisher.  The  opening  number  was 
published  in  advance  of  the  Assembly  and  sent  to 
Chautauquans  everywhere;  but  the  regular  issue 
began  on  July  29th  with  the  Scientific  Conference, 
and  was  continued  daily  (except  Sunday)  until  the 
close  of  the  Assembly.  Every  morning  sleepers 
(who  ought  to  have  arisen  earlier  in  time  for  morn- 
ing prayers  at  6:40)  were  awakened  by  the  shrill 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  79 

voices  of  boys  calling  out ' '  Daily  Assembly  Herald!" 
The  Daily  was  a  success  from  the  start,  for  it 
contained  accurate  and  complete  reports  of  the 
most  important  lectures,  outlines  of  the  Normal 
lessons,  and  the  items  of  information  needed  by 
everybody.  All  over  the  land  people  who  could 
not  come  to  Chautauqua  kept  in  touch  with  its 
life  through  the  Herald.  More  than  one  distin- 
guished journalist  began  his  editorial  career  in 
the  humble  quarters  of  The  Chautauqua  Daily 
Assembly  Herald.  For  two  seasons  the  Daily  was 
printed  in  Mayville,  though  edited  on  the  ground. 
In  1878  a  printing  plant  was  established  at  the 
Assembly  and  later  became  the  Chautauqua  Press. 
Almost  a  generation  after  its  establishment,  its 
name  was  changed  to  The  Chautauquan  Daily, 
which  throughout  the  year  is  continued  as  The 
Chautauquan  Weekly,  with  news  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua movement  at  home  and  abroad. 

Visitors  to  Chautauqua  in  the  centennial  year 
beheld  for  the  first  time  a  structure  which  won 
fame  from  its  inhabitants  if  not  from  its  archi- 
tecture. This  was  the  Guest  House,  standing 
originally  on  the  lake  shore  near  the  site  of  the 
present  Men's  Club  building;  though  nobody 
remembers  it  by  its  official  name,  for  it  soon  became 
known  as  "The  Ark."  No,  gentle  reader,  the 


8o       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

report  is  without  foundation  that  this  was  the 
original  vessel  in  which  Noah  traveled  with  his 
menagerie,  and  that  after  reposing  on  Mount 
Ararat  it  went  adrift  on  Lake  Chautauqua. 
"The  Ark"  was  built  to  provide  a  comfortable 
home  for  the  speakers  and  workers  at  the  Assembly 
who  for  two  years  had  been  lodged  in  tents,  like 
the  Israelites  in  the  Wilderness.  It  was  a  frame 
building  of  two  stories,  shingle-roofed,  with  exter- 
nal walls  and  internal  partitions  of  tent-cloth. 
Each  room  opened  upon  a  balcony,  the  stairs  to  the 
upper  floor  being  on  the  outside  and  the  entire 
front  of  each  cell  a  curtain,  which  under  a  strong 
wind  was  wont  to  break  loose,  regardless  of  the 
condition  of  the  people  inside.  After  a  few  years  a 
partition  between  two  rooms  at  one  end  was  taken 
down,  a  chimney  and  fireplace  built,  and  the  result 
was  a  living  room  where  the  arkites  assembled 
around  a  fire  and  told  stories.  Ah,  those  nodes 
ambrosiancB  when  Edward  Everett  Hale  and 
Charles  Barnard  and  Sherwin  and  the  Beards 
narrated  yarns  and  cracked  jokes!  Through  the 
thin  partitions  of  the  bedrooms,  every  sneeze 
could  be  heard.  The  building  was  soon  dubbed 
Noah's  Ark,  then  "  Knowers'  Ark,"  from  the  varied 
learning  of  its  indwellers ;  and  sometimes  from  the 
reverberations  sounding  at  night,  "Snorers'  Ark." 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  81 

Frank  Beard  was  a  little  deaf,  and  was  wont  to  sit 
at  these  conversazioni  in  the  parlor  of  the  Ark 
with  his  hand  held  like  an  ear-trumpet.  Mrs. 
Beard  used  to  say  that  whenever  she  wished  to 
hold  a  private  conversation  with  him,  they  hired 
a  boat  and  rowed  out  at  least  a  mile  from  the 
shore.  When  the  Assembly  enlarged  its  bound- 
aries by  a  purchase  of  land,  the  Ark  was  moved  up 
to  higher  ground  in  the  forest  near  where  the  Nor- 
mal Hall  now  stands,  and  there  served  almost  a 
generation  of  Chautauqua  workers,  until  its  frail 
materials  were  in  danger  of  collapse,  and  it  was 
taken  down.  Less  famous  buildings  have  been 
kept  in  memory  by  tablets  and  monuments;  but  it 
would  require  no  small  slab  of  marble  to  contain 
the  names  of  the  famous  men  and  women  who 
dwelt  in  that  old  Guest  House;  and  what  a  book 
might  have  been  made  if  some  Boswell  had  kept 
the  record  of  its  stories  and  sayings !  After  spend- 
ing two  nights  in  the  Ark,  the  Rev.  Alfred  Taylor's 
poetic  muse  was  aroused  to  sing  of  the  place  and 
its  occupants  after  this  fashion : 

This  structure  of  timber  and  muslin  contained 

Of  preachers  and  teachers  some  two  or  three  score; 

Of  editors,  parsons  a  dozen  or  more. 

There  were  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  Tiscopals,  too 

And  grave  Presbyterians,  a  handful  or  two. 


82        THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

There  were  lawyers,  and  doctors  and  various  folks, 
All  full  of  their  wisdom,  and  full  of  their  jokes. 
There  were  writers  of  lessons,  and  makers  of  songs, 
And  shrewd  commentators  with  wonderful  tongues ; 
And  all  of  these  busy,  industrious  men 
Found  it  hard  to  stop  talking  at  just  half-past  ten. 
They  talked,  and  they  joked,  and  they  kept  such  a 

clatter 

That  neighboring  folks  wondered  what  was  the  matter 
But  weary  at  last,  they  extinguished  the  light, 
And  went  to  their  beds  for  the  rest  of  the  night. 

The  formal  opening  of  the  Assembly  in  1876 
took  place  after  the  Scientific  and  Temperance 
gatherings,  on  Tuesday  evening,  August  ist,  in 
the  leaf -roofed  Auditorium,  but  the  benches  were 
now  provided  with  backs  for  the  comfort  of  the 
thousands.  The  platform  had  been  enlarged  to 
make  room,  for  a  choir,  under  the  leadership  in  turn 
of  W.  F.  Sherwin  and  Philip  P.  Bliss,  whose  gospel 
songs  are  still  sung  around  the  world.  Only  a 
few  months  later,  that  voice  was  hushed  forever 
on  earth,  when  the  train  bearing  the  singer  and  his 
wife  crashed  through  a  broken  bridge  at  Ashtabula, 
Ohio.  The  record  of  that  evening  shows  that 
fifteen  speakers  gave  greetings,  supposedly  five 
minutes  in  length,  although  occasionally  the 
flow  of  language  overpassed  the  limit.  Among  the 
speakers  we  read  the  names  of  Dr.  Henry  M.  San- 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  83 

ders  of  New  York,  Mr.  John  D.  Wattles  of  the 
Sunday  School  Times,  Dr.  Henry  W.  Warren  of 
Philadelphia,  soon  to  become  a  bishop  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Dr.  C.  F.  Burr, 
the  author  of  Ecce  Calum,  a  book  of  astronomy 
ministering  to  religion,  famous  in  that  day,  though 
almost  forgotten  in  our  time;  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott, 
who  came  before  the  audience  holding  up  his 
pocket-Bible,  with  the  words,  "I  am  here  tonight, 
because  here  this  book  is  held  in  honor,"  Dr. 
Warren  Randolph,  the  head  of  Sunday  School 
work  among  the  Baptist  churches,  and  Mr.  A.  O. 
Van  Lennep,  in  Syrian  costume  and  fez-cap.  He 
made  two  speeches,  one  in  Arabic,  the  other  in 
English. 

Normal  work  for  Sunday  School  teachers  was 
kept  well  in  the  foreground.  The  subjects  of  the 
course  were  divided  into  departments,  each  under 
a  director,  who  chose  his  assistants.  Four  simul- 
taneous lessons  were  given  in  the  section  tents, 
reviewed  later  in  the  day  by  the  directors  at  a 
meeting  of  all  the  classes  in  the  pavilion.  In 
addition,  Dr.  Vincent  held  four  public  platform 
reviews,  covering  the  entire  course.  The  record 
states  that  about  five  hundred  students  were 
present  daily  in  the  Normal  department.  About 
one  hundred  undertook  the  final  examinations  for 


84       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

membership  in  the  Normal  Alumni  Association. 
The  writer  of  these  pages  well  remembers  those 
hours  in  the  pavilion,  for  he  was  one  of  those 
examined,  and  Frank  Beard  was  another.  The 
first  question  on  the  paper  was,  "What  is  your 
name  and  address?'*  Mr.  Beard  remarked 
audibly,  that  he  was  glad  he  could  answer  at  least 
one  of  the  questions.  To  dispel  the  doubts  of  our 
readers,  we  remark  that  both  of  us  passed,  and 
were  duly  enrolled  among  the  Normal  Alumni. 

The  list  of  the  lecturers  and  their  subjects  show 
that  Bible  study  and  Bible  teaching  still  stood  at 
the  fore.  The  program  contained  with  many 
others  the  following  names:  Dr.  W.  E.  Knox  on 
"The  Old  Testament  Severities,"  Dr.  Lyman 
Abbott,  "Bible  Interpretation,"  Dr.  R.  K.  Har- 
grove of  Tennessee,  later  a  bishop  in  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  South,  "Childhood  and  the 
Sunday  School  Work,"  Dr.  George  P.  Hays, 
then  President  of  Washington  and  Jefferson 
College,  "How  to  Reason,"  Frank  Beard,  a  carica- 
ture lecture  with  crayon  on  "Our  School,"  show- 
ing types  of  teachers  and  scholars,  Dr.  George 
W.  Woodruff,  a  most  entertaining  lecture  on 
"Bright  Days  in  Foreign  Lands,"  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird 
of  Tennessee,  "Going  Fishing  with  Peter,"  Rev. 
J.  A.  Worden,  "What  a  Presbyterian  Thinks  of 


Amphitheater  Audience 

On  the  Lake  By  the  Lake 

Tennis  Courts 

In  the  Lake 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  85 

John  Wesley," — a  response  to  Rev.  J.  L.  Hurlbut's 
lecture  in  1875  on  "What  a  Methodist  Thinks  of 
John  Knox, "-Prof .  L. T. Townsend,  "Paul's  Cloak 
Left  at  Troas";  also  Dr.  Richard  Newton,  M.  C. 
Hazard,  editor  of  the  National  Sunday  School 
Teacher,  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Beecher  of  Elmira,  and 
Bishop  Jesse  T.  Peck.  These  are  a  few  samples 
of  the  repast  spread  on  the  lecture  platform  of  the 
Assembly. 

The  Centennial  of  American  Independence  was 
duly  commemorated  on  Saturday,  August  5th. 
Bishop  Simpson  had  been  engaged  to  deliver  the 
oration,  but  was  kept  at  home  by  illness  and  the 
hour  was  filled  with  addresses  by  different  speakers, 
one  of  whom,  Mr.  W.  Aver  Duncan  of  London, 
presented  the  congratulations  of  Old  England  to 
her  daughter  across  the  sea.  A  children's  centen- 
nial was  held  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  the  writer 
of  this  story  spoke,  and  Frank  Beard  drew  funny 
pictures.  We  will  not  tell,  though  we  know, 
which  of  the  two  orators  pleased  the  children  most. 
At  the  sunset  hour  an  impressive  Bible  service  was 
held  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  by  Professor  Sherwin, 
followed  in  the  Auditorium  by  a  concert  of  slave- 
songs  from  "The  North  Carolinians,"  a  troupe  of 
negro  college  students.  Late  in  the  evening  came 
a  gorgeous  display  on  the  lake,  the  Illuminated 


86       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Fleet.  Every  steam  vessel  plying  Chautauqua 
waters  marched  in  line,  led  by  the  old  three-decker 
Jamestown  all  hung  with  Chinese  lanterns,  and 
making  the  sky  brilliant  with  fireworks.  A  week 
later  there  was  a  commemorative  tree-planting 
on  the  little  park  in  the  angle  between  the  present 
Post  Office  building  and  the  Colonnade.  Presi- 
dent Lewis  Miller,  Dr.  C.  H.  Payne,  President  of 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Drs.  Vail  and  Strong, 
teachers  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  at  the  Assembly, 
Drs.  O.  H.  Tiffany,  T.  K.  Beecher,  Richard  New- 
ton, J.  A.  Worden,  Beard  and  Sherwin,  Dr.  Wythe, 
builder  of  Palestine  Park  and  Director  of  Recre- 
ations at  the  Assembly,  and  Prof.  P.  P.  Bliss  were 
some,  but  not  all  of  those  who  planted  trees. 
Afterward  each  tree  was  marked  by  a  sign  bearing 
the  name  of  its  planter.  These  signs  were  lost  in 
the  process  of  the  years,  and  not  all  the  trees  are 
now  living.  I  think  that  I  can  identify  the  tree 
planted  by  Frank  Beard,  but  am  not  sure  of  any 
other  in  the  little  group  remaining  at  the  present 
time. 

A  noteworthy  event  at  the  Assembly  of  1876 
was  the  establishment  of  the  Children's  Meeting 
as  a  daily  feature.  Meetings  for  the  younger 
people  had  been  held  from  time  to  time  in  '74  and 
'75  but  this  year  Frank  Beard  suggested  a  regular 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  87 

" Children's  Hour,"  and  the  meetings  were  at  first 
conducted  by  him,  mingling  religion  and  humor. 
Underneath  his  fun,  Mr.  Beard  had  a  serious 
soul.  He  read  strong  books,  talked  with  his 
friends  on  serious  subjects,  always  sought  to  give 
at  least  one  illustrated  Bible  reading  during 
the  Assembly,  and  resented  the  popular  expec- 
tation that  he  should  be  merely  the  funny  man  on 
the  program.  He  was  assisted  in  his  children's 
meeting  by  the  Rev.  Bethuel  T.  Vincent,  a  brother 
of  the  Founder,  who  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
teachers  of  children  and  young  people  whom  I 
have  ever  known.  He  could  arrange  the  facts  of 
Bible  knowledge  in  outline,  could  present  them 
in  a  striking  manner,  and  drill  them  into  the  minds 
of  the  boys  and  girls  in  an  enduring  way  that 
few  instructors  could  equal  and  none  surpass. 
Before  many  sessions,  Mr.  Vincent's  lesson  became 
the  major  feature  and  Beard's  pictures  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  meeting.  The  grown-ups  came  to 
the  meetings  in  such  numbers  as  threatened  to 
crowd  out  the  children,  until  the  rule  was  made 
that  adults  must  take  the  rear  seats, — no  excep- 
tion being  made  even  for  the  row  of  ear-trumpets — 
leaving  the  front  to  the  little  people.  Following 
the  custom  of  the  Normal  Class,  an  examination 
in  writing  that  would  tax  the  brains  of  many 


88       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ministers  was  held  at  the  close,  limited  to  all 
below  a  certain  age,  and  prizes  were  awarded 
to  the  best  papers  presented.  As  after  forty  years 
I  read  the  list  of  graduates  in  those  early  classes, 
I  find  the  names  of  men  and  women  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  as  ministers  and  mission- 
aries in  the  churches. 

Early  in  the  Assembly  season,  on  August  7, 
1876,  a  momentous  step  was  taken  in  the  appoint- 
ment by  the  instructors  and  students  of  the 
Normal  Class,  of  a  committee  to  prepare  a  course 
of  study  for  the  preparation  of  Sunday  School 
teachers.  Eleven  men,  present  at  Chautauqua, 
representing  ten  different  denominations,  were 
chosen  as  the  committee,  and  their  report  con- 
stituted the  first  attempt  at  a  union  normal  course. 
Hitherto  each  church  had  worked  out  its  own 
independent  course  of  study,  and  the  lines  laid 
down  were  exceedingly  divergent.  This  new 
course  prescribed  forty  lessons,  a  year's  work 
divided  between  the  study  of  the  Bible,  the  Sun- 
day School,  the  pupil,  and  the  principles  of  teach- 
ing. Comparing  it  with  the  official  course  now 
adopted  by  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association,  we  find  it  for  a  year's  study  remark- 
ably complete  and  adapted  to  the  teacher's  needs. 
For  years  it  stood  as  the  basis  of  the  teacher- 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  89 

training  work  at  Chautauqua,  was  followed  in  the 
preparation  of  text-books  and  pursued  by  many 
classes  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

The  Centennial  Year  marked  a  note  of  progress 
in  the  music  at  the  Assembly.  Up  to  this  time 
scarcely  any  music  had  been  attempted  outside  of 
the  church  and  Sunday  School  hymnals.  This 
year  the  choir  was  larger  than  before,  perhaps  as 
many  as  forty  voices — think  of  that  in  contrast 
with  the  three  hundred  now  assembled  in  the  choir- 
gallery  of  the  Amphitheater!  Some  anthems  had 
been  attempted,  but  no  oratorios,  and  no  songs 
of  the  secular  character.  It  was  Professor  C.  C. 
Case  who  ventured  with  the  doubtful  permission 
of  Dr.  Vincent  to  introduce  at  a  concert  some 
selections  from  standard  music  outside  the  realm 
of  religion.  Nobody  objected,  perhaps  because 
nobody  recognized  the  significance  of  the  step 
taken;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  whole  world 
of  music  was  open  to  Chautauquans. 

This  writer  remembers,  however,  that  when  at 
an  evening  lecture,  Dr.  Vincent  announced  as  a 
prelude  "Invitation  to  the  Dance, "  sung  by  a 
quartette  of  ladies,  he  received  next  day  a  letter 
of  protest  against  so  immoral  a  song  at  a  religious 
gathering.  If  it  had  been  sung  without  announce- 
ment Of  its  title,  no  one  would  have  objected.  On 


90       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  following  evening,  Dr.  Vincent  actually  offered 
a  mild  apology  for  the  title.  Since  that  time,  the 
same  title  has  been  printed  on  the  Chautauqua 
program,  and  the  song  encored  by  five  thousand 
people.  Surely,  "the  world  do  move!" 

Another  step  in  the  advancement  of  Chautauqua 
was  the  incorporation  of  the  Assembly.  Up  to 
this  year,  1876,  the  old  charter  of  the  Erie  Confer- 
ence Camp  Meeting  Association  had  constituted 
the  legal  organization.  On  April  28,  1876,  new 
articles  of  incorporation  were  signed  at  Mayville, 
the  county  seat,  providing  for  twenty-four  trustees 
of  the  Chautauqua  Lake  Sunday  School  Assembly. 
In  the  charter  the  object  was  stated  "to  hold 
stated  public  meetings  from  year  to  year  upon 
the  grounds  at  Fair  Point  in  the  County  of  Chau- 
tauqua for  the  furtherance  of  Sunday  School 
interests  and  any  other  moral  and  religious  pur- 
pose not  inconsistent  therewith."  We  note  that 
the  old  name  Fair  Point  was  still  used  to  designate 
the  place  of  the  Assembly.  But  it  was  for  the  last 
time ;  with  the  next  year's  program  a  new  name  will 
appear. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Board  was  to 
purchase  a  large  addition  to  the  camp-meeting 
ground  on  its  eastern  border,  and  to  lay  out  streets 
upon  it.  This  section  included  the  campus  and 


THE  NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  YEAR  91 

site  of  the  buildings  that  now  adorn  the  College 
Hill.  Some  readers  may  inquire  how  the  streets 
of  the  Assembly  received  their  names'.  During  the 
Camp  Meeting  period,  the  streets  were  named 
after  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcoal  Church- 
Simpson  Avenue,  Janes  Avenue,  Merrill  Avenue, 
and  so  on.  Under  the  Assembly  regime  a  few 
more  bishops  were  thus  remembered;  the  road 
winding  around  from  Palestine  Park  to  the  land- 
gate  on  the  public  highway  was  called  Palestine 
Avenue;  Vincent  Avenue  ran  straight  up  the  hill 
past  the  old  Dining  Hall,  Miller  Avenue  parallel 
with  it  on  the  west;  and  other  streets  later  were 
named  after  prominent  Chautauqua  leaders. 
Wythe  the  first  Secretary,  Root,  the  first  Vice- 
President,  Massey,  a  family  from  Canada  making 
liberal  contributions,  Miss  Kimball,  the  efficient 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Reading  Circle,  and  a 
few  other  names  in  Chautauqua's  annals.  The 
visitor  to  the  present-day  Chautauqua  smiles  as  he 
reads  one  of  the  earliest  enactments  of  the  new 
Board,  a  resolution  to  instruct  the  Superintendent 
of  Grounds  ''to  warn  the  person  selling  tobacco  on 
the  grounds  that  he  is  engaged  in  an  unlawful 
occupation."  We  hasten  to  add  that  this  anti- 
tobacco  regulation  is  no  longer  in  operation. 
The  reader  of  this  chapter  perceives  that  the 


92       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

centennial  year  marked  notable  advancements  at 
Chautauqua:  a  lengthened  and  broadened  pro- 
gram, the  establishing  of  a  newspaper,  the  begin- 
ning of  the  daily  Children's  Meeting  with  a  course 
of  Bible  study  for  the  young,  the  organizing  of  a 
definite  course  for  the  training  of  Sunday  School 
teachers,  the  incorporation  of  the  Assembly  with  a 
full  Board  of  Trustees,  with  the  transfer  of  the 
property  from  the  former  camp-meeting  pro- 
prietorship, and  a  purchase  of  ground  doubling 
the  extent  of  its  territory.  Chautauqua,  only 
three  years  old  is  already,  in  Scripture  phrase, 
lengthening  its  cords  and  strengthening  its  stakes. 


Old  Palace  Hotel 

The  Ark 
N.  E.  Kitchen 


Oriental  Group 

Tent-Life 
Group  of  Workers 


Lake-Shore 
Old  Dining  Hall 
Woodland  Path 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES 

THE  fourth  session  of  the  Assembly  opened  in 
1877  with  a  new  name,  Chautauqua  taking  the 
place  of  old  Fair  Point.  The  former  title  had 
caused  some  confusion.  Fair  Point  was  often 
misread  "Fairport,"  and'  letters  wandered  to  dis- 
tant places  of  similar  names.  There  was  a  Chau- 
tauqua Lake  station  on  the  Erie  Railway,  and  a 
Chautauqua  Point  encampment  across  the  late 
from  Fair  Point,  but  the  name  "Chautauqua" 
had  not  been  appropriated,  and  by  vote  of  the 
trustees  it  was  adopted;  the  government  was 
requested  to  change  the  name  of  the  Post  Office, 
and  the  railroads  and  steamboats  to  place  Chau- 
tauqua upon  their  announcements.  Fair  Point 
disappeared  from  the  record,  and  is  now  remem- 
bered only  by  the  decreasing  group  of  the  oldest 
Chautauquans. 

Every  season  brings  its  own  anxieties,  and  as 
the  Assembly  of  1877  drew  near,  a  new  fear  came 
to  the  leaders  of  Chautauqua.  A  few  will  remem- 

93 


94       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

her,  and  others  have  heard,  that  in  1877  took  place 
the  most  extensive  railway  strike  in  the  annals 
of  the  nation.  The  large  station  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  in  Pittsburgh  was  burned  by  a 
mob,  and  for  weeks  at  a  time,  no  trains  ran  either 
into  or  out  of  many  important  centers.  Fortu- 
nately the  strike  was  axijustefond  called  off  .before 
the  Assembly  opened,  and  on  the^firstTday  four 
thousand  people  entered  the  gates,  a  far  greater 
number  than  at  any  former  opening. 

On  that  year  the  menace  of  denominational 
rivalry  threatened  to  confront  Chautauqua. 
Across  the  lake,  two  miles  from  the  Assembly, 
another  point  reaches  westward,  facing  the 
Assembly  ground.  This  tract  was  purchased  by  an 
enterprising  company  belonging  to  Baptist 
churches,  and  named  Point  Chautauqua.  Its 
founders  disclaimed  any  intention  of  becoming 
competitors  with  the  Assembly.  Their  purpose, 
as  announced,  was  to  supply  sites  for  summer 
homes,  especially  to  members  and  friends  of  their 
own  denomination.  They  began  by  building  an 
expensive  hotel  at  a  time  when  the  Assembly  was 
contented  with  small  boarding  houses;  and  they 
soon  followed  the  hotel  with  a  large  lecture-hall  far 
more  comfortable  than  either  the  out-door  audi- 
torium or  the  tent-pavilion  at  Chautauqua.  To 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES     95 

attract  visitors  they  soon  provided  a  program 
of  speakers,  with  occasional  concerts.  Thus  on 
opposite  shores  of  the  lake  two  institutions  were 
rising,  in  danger  of  becoming  rivals  in  the  near 
future.  Nor  was  Chautauqua  Point  the  only 
rival  in  prospect.  A  year  or  two  later  a  tent 
was  erected  near  Lakewood  for  the  holding  of  an 
assembly  upon  a  " liberal"  platform,  where 
speakers  of  more  advanced  views  of  religion  and 
the  Bible  could  obtain  a  hearing.  This  gathering 
favored  an  open  Sunday,  and  welcomed  the 
steamers  and  railroad  excursions  on  the  day  when 
the  gates  of  Chautauqua  were  kept  tightly  closed. 
In  those  days  the  fear  was  expressed  that  Chau- 
tauqua Lake,  instead  of  being  a  center  for  Chris- 
tians of  every  name  might  furnish  sites  for  separate 
conventions  of  different  sects,  and  thus  minister 
to  dissension  rather  than  to  fellowship. 

But  these  fears  proved  to  be  groundless.  The 
"  liberal "  convocation  down  the  lake  held  but  one 
session,  and  left  its  promoters  with  debts  to  be 
paid.  The  founders  of  the  Baptist  institution 
made  the  mistake  of  beginning  on  too  great  a  scale. 
The  hotel  and  lecture-hair  involved  the  corpo- 
ration of  Point  Chautauqua  in  heavy  debt,  they 
were  sold,  and  the  place  became  a  village,  like 
other  hamlets  around  the  lake.  The  hotel  was 


96       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

continued  for  some  years,  and  the  lecture-hall 
became  a  dancing  pavilion,  tempting  the  young 
people  to  cross  the  lake  from  Chautauqua  where 
dancing  was  under  a  strict  taboo.  Perhaps  it 
was  an  advantage  to  the  thousands  at  the 
Assembly  to  find  only  two  miles  away  a  place 
where  the  rules  were  relaxed. 

One  story  of  a  later  season  may  be  told  in  this 
connection,  for  it  was  without  doubt  typical. 
There  are  staid  fathers  and  mothers  attending 
lectures  on  sociology  and  civics  in  the  Hall  of 
Philosophy  who  could  narrate  similar  experiences 
if  only  they  would.  A  youth  and  two  young  lasses 
went  out  at  the  pier-gate  for  a  sail  across  the  lake. 
They  landed  at  Point  Chautauqua,  refreshed  their 
constrained  bodies  by  a  good  dance,  and  then 
sailed  home  again.  But  it  was  late,  the  gate  was 
closed,  and  it  was  of  no  avail  to  rattle  the  portals, 
for  the  gate-keepers  were  asleep  in  their  homes  far 
up  the  hill.  The  girls  were  somewhat  alarmed, 
but  the  young  man  piloted  them  through  the 
forest  over  a  well-worn  path  to  a  place  where 
some  pickets  of  the  fence  were  loose  and  could  be 
shoved  aside.  They  squeezed  through  and  soon 
were  safely  at  their  homes. 

But  their  troubles  were  not  over.  Their  tickets 
had  been  punched  to  go  out  of  the  grounds,  but 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES      97 

not  to  come  in  again.  Technically,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Chautauqua  government  they  were  still  out- 
side the  camp.  This  young  man,  however,  was  not 
lacking  in  resources.  He  knew  all  the  officials 
from  His  Whiskers,  the  supreme  chief  of  police, 
down  the  list.  Making  choice  of  one  gateman 
whose  nature  was  somewhat  social  he  called  upon 
him  in  his  box,  talked  in  a  free  and  easy  way, 
picked  up  his  punch  and  began  making  holes  in 
paper  and  cards.  When  the  gatekeeper's  back  was 
turned,  he  quickly  brought  out  the  three  tickets, 
punched  them  for  coming  into  the  grounds,  and 
then  laid  down  the  nippers.  The  girls,  now 
officially  within  the  grounds,  were  grateful  to 
their  friend,  and  to  manifest  their  regard  wrought 
for  him  a  sofa-pillow  which  decorated  his  room  in 
college. 

Something  should  be  said  just  here  concerning 
the  ticket-system  of  Chautauqua.  It  was  devised 
by  the  genius  of  Lewis  Miller,  to  whom  inven- 
tion was  instinctive,  and  was  improved  to  meet 
every  possible  attempt  at  evasion.  There  were 
one-day  tickets,  good  for  only  one  admission, 
three-day  tickets,  week-tickets,  and  season-tickets, 
all  providing  no  admission  on  Sundays.  They 
were  not  transferable,  and  all  except  the  one-day 
variety  bore  the  purchaser's  name.  Two  or  three 


98       THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

times  during  the  season  officers  visited  every  house 
and  every  lecture  and  class,  even  stopping  every- 
body on  the  streets  to  see  that  no  single-day  tickets 
were  kept  for  longer  periods.  Provision  was  made 
for  exchanging  at  the  office  short-stop  tickets  for 
the  longer  time  desired.  If  one  wished  to  go  out- 
side the  gate  on  an  errand,  or  for  a  sail  on  the  lake, 
he  must  leave  his  ticket,  unless  he  was  known  to 
the  gate-keeper,  in  order  to  prevent  more  than  one 
person  from  using  the  same  ticket.  When  one  left 
the  Assembly  for  good,  he  gave  up  his  ticket. 
Every  ticket  had  its  number  by  which  it  could  be 
identified  if  lost  or  found; and  the  bulletin-board 
contained  plenty  of  notices  of  lost  tickets. 

It  is  said  that  one  careful  visitor  carried  his 
ticket  everywhere  for  a  day  or  two,  at  each  lecture- 
hall  and  tent  looking  vainly  for  a  window  where  it 
might  be  shown.  As  it  did  not  seem  to  be  needed, 
he  left  it  in  his  room,  only  to  find  when  he  wished 
to  take  out  a  boat,  that  he  must  go  home  and  get 
his  ticket.  When  the  day  arrived  for  him  to  leave 
Chautauqua,  he  placed  his  ticket  in  the  bottom  of 
his  trunk,  as  it  would  be  needed  no  longer,  intending 
to  take  it  home  as  a  souvenir  for  his  memory-book. 
But,  alas,  at  the  gate,  departing,  he  found  that 
ticket  an  absolute  necessity.  Without  it,  appar- 
ently he  must  stay  forever  inside  the  walls  of  Chau- 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES     99 

tauqua.  So  once  more  he  overhauled  his  trunk, 
dug  up  his  ticket  from  its  lowest  strata,  and 
departed  in  peace. 

One  departure  from  camp-meeting  customs  at 
once  wrought  a  change  in  the  aspect  of  Chau- 
tauqua  and  greatly  promoted  its  growth.  We 
have  noted  the  fact  that  in  the  earlier  years  no 
householder  or  tent-dweller  was  to  receive  board- 
ers, and  all  except  those  who  cooked  at  home  ate 
in  a  common  dining-hall.  After  the  third  As- 
sembly, this  restriction  was  removed  and  any- 
one could  provide  rooms  and  board  upon  paying 
a  certain  percentage  of  receipts  to  the  manage- 
ment. The  visitors  who  came  in  1877  missed,  but 
not  in  sorrow,  the  dingy  old  Dining-Hall,  which 
had  been  torn  down.  But  everywhere  boarding 
houses  had  sprung  up  as  by  magic,  and  cottages 
had  suddenly  bulged  out  with  new  additions,  while 
signs  of  "Rooms  and  Board "  greeted  the  visitants 
everywhere.  In  fact,  so  eager  were  the  landlords 
for  their  prey,  that  runners  thronged  the  wharf  to 
inform  new  arrivals  of  desirable  homes,  and  one 
met  these  agents  even  at  the  station  in  Mayville. 
There  was  an  announcement  of  the  Palace  Hotel, 
the  abode  of  luxurious  aristocracy.  The  seeker 
after  its  lordly  accommodations  found  a  frame 
building,  tent-covered  and  tent-partitioned  into 


ioo     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

small  rooms  for  guests.  But  even  this  was  an 
improvement  upon  the  rows  of  cots  in  the  big 
second  story  of  the  old  lodging  house,  where  fifty 
people  slept  in  one  room,  sometimes  with  the  rain 
dripping  upon  them  through  a  leaky  roof.  Year 
by  year  the  boarding  cottages  grew  in  number,  in 
size,  and  in  comfort.  Fain  would  we  name  some  of 
these  hostelries,  whose  patrons  return  to  them 
season  after  season,  but  we  dare  not  begin  the 
catalogue,  lest  by  an  omission  we  should  offend 
some  beloved  landlady  and  her  guests.  In  a  few 
years  the  Palace  Hotel,  half -house  and  half-tent, 
gave  place  to  the  Hotel  Athenaeum,  on  the  same 
site,  whose  wide  balcony  looks  out  upon  the  lake, 
and  whose  tower  has  been  a  home  for  some  choic^ 
spirits.  The  writer  knows  this  for  he  has  dwelt 
beside  them. 

On  the  extreme  southwestern  limit  of  the  old 
camp  ground  was  a  ravine,  unoccupied  until  1877. 
On  the  slopes  of  this  valley  the  declivity  was 
cleared  and  terraced,  seats — this  time  with  backs — 
were  arranged  upon  its  sides;  toward  the  lake  it 
was  somewhat  banked  up  to  form  a  place  for  the 
speakers*  platform.  Over  it  was  spread  the  tent, 
formerly  known  as  "the  pavilion,"  brought  from 
the  hill  beside  Vincent  Avenue.  This  was  the 
nucleus  out  of  which  grew  in  after  years  the  famous 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    for 

Chautauqua  Amphitheater.  At  first  it  was  used 
only  on  rainy  days,  but  after  a  year  or  two  gradu- 
ally took  the  place  of  the  out-of-doors  Auditorium. 

Near  the  book-store  on  the  hill  stands  a  small 
gothic,  steep-roofed  building,  now  a  flower-shop. 
It  was  built  just  before  the  Assembly  of  1877  as  a 
church  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  lived  through 
the  year  at  Chautauqua,  numbering  at  that  time 
about  two  hundred  people.  The  old  chapel  was 
the  first  permanent  public  building  erected  at 
Chautauqua  and  still  standing. 

The  program  of  '77  began  with  a  council  of 
Reform  and  Church  Congress,  from  Saturday, 
August  4th  to  Tuesday,  August  7th.  Anthony 
Comstock,  that  fearless  warrior  in  the  cause  of 
righteousness,  whose  face  showed  the  scars  of 
conflict,  who  arrested  more  corrupters  of  youth, 
and  destroyed  more  vile  books,  papers,  and  pictures 
than  any  other  social  worker,  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing speakers.  He  reported  at  that  time  the  arrest 
of  257  dealers  in  obscene  literature  and  the  de- 
struction of  over  twenty  tons  of  their  publications. 
There  is  evil  enough  in  this  generation,  but  there 
would  have  been  more  if  Anthony  Comstock  had 
not  lived  in  the  last  generation.  Another  reformer 
of  that  epoch  was  Francis  Murphy,  who  had  been 
a  barkeeper,  but  became  a  worker  for  temperance. 


*I02      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

His  blue  ribbon  badge  was  worn  by  untold  thou- 
sands of  reformed  drunkards.  He  had  a  power 
almost  marvelous  of  freeing  men  from  the  chain  of 
appetite.  I  was  present  once  at  a  meeting  in  New 
York  where  from  the  platform  I  looked  upon  a 
churchful  of  men,  more  than  three  hundred  in 
number,  whose  faces  showed  that  the  "pleasures 
of  sin"  are  the  merest  mockery;  and  after  his 
address  a  multitude  came  forward  to  sign  Mr. 
Murphy's  pledge  and  put  on  his  blue  ribbon.  At 
Chautauqua  Mr.  Murphy  made  no  appeal  to  vic- 
tims of  the  drink  habit,  for  they  were  not  there  to 
hear  him,  but  he  did  appeal,  and  most  powerfully,  in 
their  behalf,  to  the  Christian  assemblage  before 
him.  Another  figure  on  the  platform  was  that  of 
John  B.  Gough, — we  do  not  call  him  a  voice,  for 
not  only  his  tongue,  but  face,  hands,  feet,  even  his 
coat-tails,  were  eloquent.  No  words  can  do 
justice  to  this  peerless  orator  in  the  cause  of  reform. 
These  were  the  three  mighty  men  of  the  council, 
but  the  report  shows  twice  as  many  names  almost 
as  distinguished. 

On  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  August  7th,  came 
the  regular  opening  of  the  Assembly  proper,  in  the 
Auditorium  on  the  Point.  The  report  of  attend- 
ance was  far  above  that  of  any  former  opening  day. 
Dr.  Vincent  presided  and  conducted  the  responsive 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    103 

service  of  former  years — the  same  opening  sen- 
tences and  songs  used  every  year  since  the  first 
Assembly  in  1874.  We  find  fifteen  names  on  the 
list  of  the  speakers  on  that  evening,  representing 
many  churches,  many  States,  and  at  least  two 
lands  outside  our  own. 

Is  another  story  of  Frank  Beard  on  that  evening 
beneath  the  dignity  of  history?  When  he  came 
upon  the  platform,  he  found  the  chairs  occupied, 
and  sat  down  among  the  alto  singers,  where  he 
insisted  on  remaining  despite  the  expostulations  of 
Mr.  Sherwin.  In  the  middle  of  the  exercises, 
the  steamboat  whistle  at  the  pier  gave  an  un- 
usually raucous  scream.  Mr.  Sherwin  came  for- 
ward and  told  the  audience  that  there  was  no  cause 
for  alarm ;  the  sound  was  merely  Mr.  Beard  tuning 
his  voice  to  sing  alto.  Two  or  three  speakers 
afterward  incidentally  referred  to  Mr.  Beard  as  a 
singer,  and  hoped  that  he  might  favor  the  con- 
gregation with  a  solo.  One  of  the  speakers,  an 
Englishman,  prefaced  his  talk  by  singing  an 
original  song,  set  to  Chautauqua  music.  That  he 
might  see  his  verses,  Mr.  Sherwin  took  down  a 
locomotive  headlight  hanging  on  one  of  the  trees, 
and  held  it  by  the  side  of  the  singer.  The  English- 
man, short  and  fat,  and  Sherwin  with  dignity 
supporting  the  big  lantern,  formed  a  tableau. 


104      THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

Immediately  afterward  Dr.  Vincent  called  on 
Mr.  Beard  to  speak;  and  this  was  his  opening, 
delivered  in  his  peculiar  drawl. 

"I  was  a  good  mind  to  sing  a  song  instead  of 
making  a  speech,  but  I  was  sure  that  Professor 
Sherwin  wouldn't  hold  the  lantern  for  me  to  sing 
by.  He  knows  that  he  can't  hold  a  candle  to  me, 
anyhow!" 

With  Professor  Sherwin,  in  charge  of  the  music 
in  1877,  was  associated  Philip  Phillips,  whose  solos 
formed  a  prelude  to  many  of  the  lectures.  No  one 
who  listened  to  that  silvery  yet  sympathetic  voice 
ever  forgot  it.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  in  Washington,  after  hearing  him  sing 
Your  Mission,  sent  up  to  the  platform  his  written 
request  to  have  it  repeated  before  the  close  of  the 
meeting.  Mr.  Phillips  ever  after  cherished  that 
scrap  of  paper  with  the  noblest  name  in  the  history 
of  America.  Another  musical  event  of  the  season 
of  1877  was  the  visit  of  the  Young  Apollo  Club  of 
New  York,  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  boy-choirs 
in  the  country.  They  gave  three  concerts  at  Chau- 
tauqua,  which  in  the  rank  and  rendering  of  their 
music  were  a  revelation  to  the  listening  multitudes. 

While  we  are  speaking  of  the  music  we  must 
make  mention  of  songs  written  and  composed 
especially  for  Chautauqua.  In  Dr.  Vincent's 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    105 

many-sided  nature  was  a  strain  of  poetry,  although 
I  do  not  know  that  he  ever  wrote  a  verse.  Yet  he 
always  looked  at  life  and  truth  through  poetic 
eyes.  Who  otherwise  would  have  thought  of  songs 
for  Chautauqua,  and  called  upon  a  poet  to  write 
them?  Dr.  Vincent  found  in  Miss  Mary  A. 
Lathbury  another  poet  who  could  compose  fitting 
verses  for  the  expression  of  the  Chautauqua  spirit. 
If  I  remember  rightly  her  first  song  was  prepared 
for  the  opening  in  1875,  the  second  Assembly,  and 
as  the  earliest,  it  is  given  in  full.  In  it  is  a  refer- 
ence to  some  speakers  at  the  first  Assembly  who 
went  on  a  journey  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  to  one, 
the  Rev.  F.  A.  Goodwin,  whose  cornet  led  the 
singing  in  1874,  who  became  a  missionary  in  India. 

A  HYMN  OF  GREETING 

The  flush  of  morn,  the  setting  suns 
Have  told  their  glories  o'er  and  o'er 

One  rounded  year,  since,  heart  to  heart 
We  stood  with  Jesus  by  the  shore. 

We  heard  his  wondrous  voice;  we  touched 
His  garment's  hem  with  rev'rent  hand, 

Then  at  his  word,  went  forth  to  preach 
His  coming  Kingdom  in  the  land. 

And  following  him,  some  willing  feet 
The  way  to  Emmaus  have  trod ; 

And  some  stand  on  the  Orient  plains, 
And  some — upon  the  mount  of  Godl 


io6      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

While  over  all,  and  under  all, 
The  Master's  eye,  the  Master's  arm, 

Have  led  in  paths  we  have  not  known, 
Yet  kept  us  from  the  touch  of  harm. 

One  year  of  golden  days  and  deeds, 
Of  gracious  growth,  of  service  sweet; 

And  now  beside  the  shore  again 
We  gather  at  the  Master's  feet. 

"Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  we  sing; 

Yet  to  the  bending  blue  above 
We  look,  beyond  the  face  of  friends, 

To  mark  the  coming  of  the  Dove. 

Descend  upon  us  as  we  wait 

With  open  heart — with  open  Word; 

Breathe  on  us,  mystic  Paraclete 
Breathe  on  us,  Spirit  of  the  Lord ! 

Another  song  of  the  second  Assembly,  and  sung 
through  the  years  since  at  the  services  of  the 
Chautauqua  Circle,  was  written  and  set  to  music 
by  Miss  Lucy  J.  Rider  of  Chicago,  afterward  Mrs. 
Lucy  Rider  Meyer,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Deaconess  movement  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  It  begins  with  the  lines : 

The  winds  are  whispering  to  the  trees, 

The  hill-tops  catch  the  strain, 
The  forest  lifts  her  leafy  gates 

To  greet  God's  host  again. 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    107 

In  the  year  of  which  we  are  writing,  1877,  Mary 
A.  Lathbury  gave  to  Chautauqua  two  songs  which 
have  become  famous,  and  are  to  be  found  in  every 
hymnal  published  during  the  last  generation. 
One  is  the  Evening  Song  of  Praise,  "Day  is  dying  in 
the  West,"  written  to  be  sung  at  the  even-tide 
conferences  beside  the  lake.  The  other,  beginning, 
"Break  thou  the  bread  of  life,"  was  the  study 
song  for  the  Normal  Classes.  Another,  less  widely 
known  abroad,  but  sung  every  year  at  Chautauqua 
is  the  Alumni  Song,  "Join,  O  friends,  in  a  memory 
song. ' '  These  were  a  few  of  the  many  songs  written 
by  Miss  Lathbury  at  Dr.  Vincent's  request,  and 
set  to  music  by  Professor  Sherwin.  Originally 
composed  for  the  Normal  Class,  then  the  most 
prominent  feature  on  the  program,  after  the  Chau- 
tauqua Circle  arose  to  greatness  in  1878,  they  were 
adopted  as  the  songs  of  that  widespread  organi- 
zation. For  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  a  class  song  was 
written  each  year,  until  the  Chautauqua  songs 
grew  into  a  book.  Not  all  of  these  class  songs 
have  become  popular,  but  quite  a  number  are  still 
sung  at  the  Institution,  especially  at  class-meetings 
and  in  the  Recognition  Day  services. 

At  the  Assembly  of  1877  the  Normal  Class  still 
stood  in  the  foreground.  Special  courses  of  lessons 
were  given  to  Primary  Teachers,  by  Mrs.  Emily 


io8     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Huntington  Miller,  Mrs.  Wilbur  F.  Crafts,  and  the 
every-popular  ' '  Pansy '  '—Mrs.  G.  R.  Alden.  The 
record  informs  us  that  the  average  attendance 
at  the  four  normal  tents  was  more  than  five  hun- 
red.  Thorough  reviews  after  the  course  were  held 
from  time  to  time,  and  this  year  two  competitive 
examinations,  one  on  August  I4th  for  those  unable 
to  remain  until  the  close,  but  received  examination 
on  the  entire  course, — fifty  questions  in  number; 
the  other  on  Tuesday,  August  2ist  with  three 
hundred  candidates  for  the  diploma. 

From  1876  for  a  number  of  years  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  hold  an  anniversary  service  on  one  evening, 
for  the  Normal  Alumni.  The  graduates  marched 
in  procession,  led  by  a  band,  a  silken  banner  before 
each  class,  and  every  member  wearing  a  badge,  to 
the  Pavilion  in  the  ravine  and  afterward  to  its 
successor  the  Amphitheater,  where  Chautauqua 
songs  were  sung,  and  an  address  given  by  an  orator, 
the  President  of  the  Normal  Alumni  introducing 
the  speaker.  It  may  have  been  in  1877,  or  maybe 
in  a  later  year,  that  John  B.  Gough  was  the  orator 
of  the  evening;  and  he  began  his  address  in  this 
wise: 

I  don't  know  why  I  have  been  chosen  to  speak  to  the 
Alumni  of  Chautauqua,  unless  it  is  because  I  am  an 
Alumni  myself,  if  that  is  the  right  word  for  one  of 


A  NEW. NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    109 

them.  I  am  an  alumni  of  Ambers t  College;  M.A., 
Master  of  Arts.  I  have  a  diploma,  all  in  Latin.  I 
can't  read  a  word  of  it,  and  don't  know  what  it  means, 
but  those  long  Latin  words  look  as  if  they  must  mean 
something  great.  When  I  was  made  an  alumni  I  sat 
on  the  platform  of  the  Commencement  Day;  the 
salutatorian— they  told  me  that  was  his  title— came 
up  and  began  to  speak  in  Latin.  He  said  something 
to  the  President,  and  he  bowed  and  smiled  as  if  he 
understood  it.  He  turned  to  the  trustees,  and  spoke 
to  them  and  they  looked  as  wise  as  they  could.  He 
said  something  to  the  graduating  class,  and  they 
seemed  to  enjoy  it — all  in  Latin;  and  I  hadn't  the 
remotest  idea  what  it  was  all  about.  I  kept  saying  to 
myself,  "I  wish  that  he  would  speak  just  one  word 
that  I  could  understand."  Finally,  the  orator  turned 
straight  in  my  direction  and  said,  "Ignoramus!"  I 
smiled,  and  bowed,  just  as  the  others  had.  There  was 
one  word  that  I  could  understand,  and  it  exactly  fitted 
my  case! 

On  the  lecture  platform  of  1877,  the  outstanding 
figure  was  the  massive  frame,  the  Jupiter-like 
head,  and  the  resonant  voice  of  Joseph  Cook,  one 
of  the  foremost  men  of  that  generation  in  the 
reconciliation  of  science  with  religion — if  the  twain 
ever  needed  a  reconcilation.  He  gave  six  lectures, 
listened  to  by  vast  audiences.  The  one  most 
notable  was  that  entitled,  "Does  Death  End  All?" 
in  which  he  assembled  a  host  of  evidences,  outside 
of  the  Scriptures,  pointing  to  the  soul's  immortal- 


i  io      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ity.  Joseph  Cook  is  well-nigh  forgotten  in  this 
day,  but  in  his  generation  he  was  an  undoubted 
power  as  a  defender  of  the  faith. 

If  we  were  to  name  the  Rev.  James  M.  Buck- 
ley, D.D.,  in  the  account  of  each  year  when 
he  spoke  in  the  platform  and  the  subjects  of 
his  addresses,  there  would  be  room  in  our  record 
for  few  other  lecturers.  He  was  present  at  the 
opening  session  in  1874,  and  at  almost  every 
session  afterward  for  more  than  forty  years, — 
aggressive  in  debate,  instantaneous  in  repartee, 
marvelous  in  memory  of  faces  and  facts,  and  ready 
to  speak  upon  the  widest  range  of  subjects.  Every 
year,  Dr.  Buckley  held  a  question-drawer,  and 
few  were  the  queries  that  he  could  not  answer; 
although  in  an  emergency  he  might  dodge  a 
difficulty  by  telling  a  story.  For  many  years 
he  was  the  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  in  New 
York,  known  among  Methodists  as  the  "Great 
Official";  and  he  made  his  paper  the  champion  of 
conservatism,  for  he  was  always  ready  to  break  a 
lance  in  behalf  of  orthodox  belief  or  the  Methodist 
system.  Another  speaker  this  year  was  Dr.  P.  S. 
Henson,  a  Baptist  pastor  successively  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  Chicago,  and  in  Boston,  but  by  no 
means  limited  to  one  parish  in  his  ministry.  He 
spoke  under  many  titles,  but  most  popularly  on 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    in 

"Fools,"  and  "The  Golden  Calf,"  and  he  knew 
how  to  mingle  wisdom  and  wit  in  just  proportions. 
Abundant  as  were  his  resources  in  the  pulpit  and 
on  the  platform,  some  of  us  who  sat  with  him  at  the 
table  or  on  a  fallen  tree  in  the  forest,  thought 
that  he  was  even  richer  and  more  delightful,  as  well 
as  sagacious  in  his  conversation.  Dr.  Charles  F. 
Deems,  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Stranger  in 
New  York,  also  came  to  Chautauqua  for  the  first 
time  this  year.  He  was  at  home  equally  in 
theology,  in  science,  and  on  the  questions  of  the 
day,  with  a  remarkable  power  of  making  truth 
seemingly  abstruse  simple  to  common  people. 
I  recall  a  lecture  on  a  scientific  subject,  at  which 
he  saw  on  the  front  seat  two  boys,  and  he  made  it 
his  business  to  address  those  boys  and  simplify  his 
message  seemingly  for  them  while  in  reality  for 
his  entire  audience.  But  we  cannot  even  name  the 
speakers  who  gave  interest  to  the  program  of 

1877- 

One  event  of  that  season,  however,  must  not  be 
omitted,  for  it  became  the  origin  of  one  note- 
worthy Chautauqua  custom.  Mr.  S.  L.  Greene, 
from  Ontario,  Canada,  a  deaf-mute,  gave  an 
address  before  a  great  audience  in  the  Auditorium 
under  the  trees.  He  spoke  in  the  sign-language, 
telling  several  stories  from  the  gospels;  and  so 


112      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

striking  were  his  silent  symbols  that  everyone 
could  see  the  picture.  We  were  especially  struck 
with  his  vivid  representation  of  Christ  stilling  the 
tempest.  As  he  closed,  the  audience  of  at  least 
two  thousand  burst  into  applause,  clapping  their 
hands.  Dr.  Vincent  came  forward,  and  said, 
"The  speaker  is  unable  to  hear  your  applause; 
let  us  wave  our  handkerchiefs  instead  of  clapping 
our  hands." 

In  an  instant  the  grove  was  transformed  into  a 
garden  of  white  lilies  dancing  under  the  leaves  of 
the  trees,  or  as  some  said,  "into  a  snow-covered 
field."  The  Superintendent  of  Instruction  then 
and  there  adopted  the  Chautauqua  Salute  of  the 
waving  handkerchiefs  as  a  token  of  special  honor. 
It  is  sparingly  given,  only  two  or  three  times  during 
the  season,  and  never  except  when  called  for  by  the 
head  of  Chautauqua  in  person. 

At  the  annual  commemoration  on  "Old  First 
Night"  the  Chautauqua  salute  is  now  given  in  a 
peculiar  manner  to  the  memory  of  Lewis  Miller 
and  other  leaders  who  are  no  longer  among  us. 
At  the  call  of  the  President,  the  handkerchiefs 
are  slowly  raised  and  held  in  absolute  stillness  for  a 
moment ;  then  as  silently  lowered.  The  Chautau- 
qua salute  is  one  of  the  traditions  observed  in 
minutest  detail  after  the  manner  of  the  Founders. 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    113 

Among  the  early  issues  of  the  Assembly  Herald 
appear  some  verses  worthy  of  a  place  in  our 
history. 

THE  CHAUTAUQUA  SALUTE 
BY  MAY  M.  BISBEE 

Have  you  heard  of  a  wonderful  lily 

That  blooms  in  the  fields  of  air? 
With  never  a  stem  or  a  pale  green  leaf, 

Spotless,  and  white,  and  fair  ? 
Unnamed  in  the  books  of  wise  men. 

Nor  akin  to  the  queenly  rose; 
But  the  white  Chautauqua  lily 

Is  the  fairest  flower  that  grows. 

Never  in  quiet  meadows, 

By  brookside  cool  and  green, 
In  garden-plot,  nor  in  forest  glen, 

This  wonderful  flower  is  seen. 
It  grows  in  goodly  companies, 

A  theme  for  the  poet's  pen; 
It  loves  not  silence,  nor  cold  nor  dark, 

But  it  blooms  in  the  haunts  of  men. 

The  nation  trails  its  great  men 

Of  high  and  honored  name, 
With  clapping  of  hands  and  roll  of  drums 

And  trump  that  sings  of  fame; 
But  a  sweet  and  silent  greeting 

To  the  ones  we  love  the  best, 
Are  the  white  Chautauqua  lilies 

In  our  summer  home  of  rest. 


114     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

When  the  beautiful  vesper  service 

Has  died  on  the  evening  air, 
And  a  thousand  happy  faces 

Are  raised  at  the  close  of  prayer, 
The  voice  of  our  well-loved  leader 

Rings  out  in  its  clear-toned  might; 
"We  will  give  our  salutation 

To  an  honored  guest  to-night." 

Then  out  of  the  speaking  silence 

The  white  wings  rise  to  air, 
Faintest  of  flutter  and  softest  of  sound, 

Hail  to  the  lilies  rare ! 
Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands, 

Swiftly  the  lilies  grow, 
Till  the  air  is  filled  with  the  fluttering  flowers, 

As  the  winter  air  with  snow. 

Hail  to  the  fair  white  lilies! 

Sweetest  of  salutations! 
The  love  of  a  thousand  hearts  they  bear 

The  greeting  of  the  nations. 
The  fairest  of  earth-born  flowers 

Must  wither  by-and-by; 
But  the  lilies  that  live  in  the  hearts  they  hail 

Will  never,  never  die. 

O  cold  blast,  spare  the  lily-bed 

That  bears  the  wonderful  flower ! 
Give  largely,  O  sky,  of  summer  sun, 

Largely  of  summer  shower, 
Till  the  white  flowers  born  in  our  summer  home 

To  earth's  outermost  rim  be  given; 
And  the  lilies  open  their  cups  of  snow 

In  the  garden  beds  of  heaven. 


A  NEW  NAME  AND  NEW  FACES    115 

At  the  final  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in  1877, 
on  Monday  evening,  August  2Oth,  Dr.  Vincent 
outlined  some  plans  for  the  coming  year, — a  large 
hotel  to  replace  the  tented  walls  of  the  Pavilion 
Palace,  a  new  meeting-place  to  be  built  with  walls 
and  roof  over  the  natural  amphitheater  in  the 
ravine,  some  further  courses  of  study,  and  many 
improvements  to  the  grounds.  Then  he  added, 
"And  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if — well,  I  will 
not  tell  you — I  have  another  dream  I  will  not 
giveyou."  (A voice: "Let 'shave it.")  "No,Iam 
going  to  hold  that  back,  so  you  will  want  me  to 
come  next  year.  But  I  believe  that  something 
higher  and  larger  is  just  out  yonder  in  the  near 
future.  Next  summer,  if  we  all  live,  I  will  tell  you 
about  it."  We  shall  see  in  the  coming  chapter 
what  that  new  development  of  Chautauqua  was  to 
be, — the  greatest  in  its  history,  and  perhaps  the 
greatest  in  the  history  of  education  through  the 
land. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE 

THE  ''dream"  of  which  Dr.  Vincent  gave  a  hint 
at  the  close  of  the  1877  Assembly  was  destined  to 
become  a  reality  in  1878.  That  year  marks  a 
golden  milestone  in  the  history  of  Chautauqua,  for 
then  was  launched  The  Chautauqua  Literary  and 
Scientific  Circle,  that  goodly  vessel  which  has 
sailed  around  the  world,  has  carried  more  than  a 
half-million  of  passengers,  and  has  brought 
inspiration  and  intelligence  to  multitudes  un- 
numbered. The  conception  arose  in  its  author's 
mind  from  the  consciousness  of  his  own  intellectual 
needs.  He  had  longed,  but  vainly,  for  the 
privilege  of  higher  education  in  the  college,  but  in 
his  youth  there  were  no  Boards  of  Education  with 
endowments  extending  a  helping  hand  to  needy 
students.  His  school-days  ended  in  the  academy, 
but  not  his  education,  for  he  was  to  the  end  of 
his  life  a  student>  reading  the  best  books,  even 
when  their  subjects  and  style  demanded  a  trained 
mind.  As  one  who  knew  him  well  and  for  more 


Flower  Girls  on  Recognition  Day 


Flower  Girls  of  1894 
Elizabeth  Vincent  and  Paul  Harper  leading 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   117 

than  a  generation,  I  may  say  without  hesitation 
that  John  Heyl  Vincent  possessed  more  knowledge 
and  richer  culture  than  nine  out  of  ten  men  holding 
a  college  diploma. 

But  his  heart  went  out  in  sympathy  toward 
others  who  like  himself  had  missed  the  opportunity 
of  dwelling  in  college-cloisters,  toward  workers  on 
the  farm,  at  the  forge,  in  the  store,  in  the  office, 
in  the  kitchen,  and  in  the  factory,  whose  longings 
were  like  his  own.  Many  of  these  would  read 
good  books  and  drink  at  "the  Pierian  Spring,"  if 
only  they  knew  where  to  find  the  fountain — in 
other  words,  if  some  intelligent,  well-read  person 
would  direct  them,  and  place  the  best  books 
in  their  way.  Gradually  it  dawned  upon  his  mind 
that  everyone  has  some  margin  of  time,  at  least 
half  an  hour  among  the  tweny-four,  which 
might  be  made  useful  under  wise  counsel  to  win 
knowledge.  He  had  not  heard  of  that  sentence 
spoken  by  the  great  President  of  Harvard,  that 
"ten  minutes  a  day,  for  ten  years  of  a  life,  with 
the  right  books,  will  give  any  one  an  education." 
Indeed,  that  wise  utterance  came  after  the  Chau- 
tauqua  Circle  had  been  established  and  was 
already  giving  guidance  to  many  thousand  people. 

The  conception  came  to  Dr.  Vincent  of  a  course 
of  reading,  which  might  become  to  the  diligent  a 


Ii8      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

course  of  study,  to  include  the  principal  subjects 
of  a  college  curriculum,  all  in  the  English  language, 
omitting  the  mathematical  and  technical  depart- 
ments of  science;  a  course  that  would  give  to  its 
careful  reader,  not  the  mental  discipline  of  four 
years  in  college,  but  something  of  the  college  out- 
look upon  life  and  letters.  It  was  to  embrace 
the  histories  of  the  great  nations  that  shaped 
the  world — Israel,  Greece,  Rome,  Great  Britain, 
and  America, — with  shorter  sketches  of  other 
important  lands ;  a  view  over  the  literature  of  the 
ages,  not  in  the  original  Greek,  Latin,  or  German, 
but  as  translated  into  our  own  tongue,  presented 
in  a  manner  to  give  general  understanding  to  the 
many,  and  also  to  awaken  the  aspiring  reader  by 
pointing  out  the  path  to  thorough  knowledge. 
There  are  tens  of  thousands  who  have  studied  the 
Bible  only  in  the  English  version,  yet  could  pass  a 
better  examination  upon  its  contents  than  many 
graduates  of  the  theological  seminary.  One  might 
read  such  an  account  of  Homer's  Odyssey,  or 
Virgil's  JEneid,  or  Dante's  Paradiso,  or  Goethe's 
Faust,  as  would  inspire  him  to  seek  and  study  a 
complete  translation  of  these  masterpieces.  Dr. 
Edward  Everett  Hale,  from  the  beginning  one  of 
the  counselors  of  the  Chautauqua  Course,  said 
that  it  gives  to  its  students  "the  language  of  the 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   119 

time";  not  a  full  detailed  knowledge,  but  such  a 
general  view  as  enables  him  to  understand  allusions 
and  references,  to  be  at  home  with  the  thinkers  and 
writers  of  the  age. 

The  Chautauqua  Circle  was  not  planned  for 
specialists,  seeking  full  knowledge  upon  one  sub- 
ject, but  for  general  readers.  Before  it  was  inau- 
gurated there  was  already  established  in  Boston 
the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Home  Study. 
The  student  who  desired  aid  through  this  use- 
ful organization  was  expected  to  select  some  one 
department  of  knowledge,  and  then  a  list  of 
books  or  articles  would  be  sent  to  him,  with 
suggestions,  questions,  and  an  examination.  If 
historical,  it  would  not  be  history  in  general,  but 
the  history  of  one  country,  or  one  period  in  its 
annals.  It  might  be  the  American,  or  French,  or 
English  Revolution — very  thorough,  but  only  for 
one  seeking  special  knowledge.  But  the  Chau- 
tauqua plan  contemplated  a  general  round  of 
knowledge — history,  literature,  science,  natural 
and  social,  art,  and  religion:  and  this  broad  con- 
ception was  one  great  secret  of  its  success.  A 
story  which  is  typical  was  told  the  writer  of  this 
volume  as  an  absolute  fact  by  one  who  claimed 
to  know  the  persons  referred  to.  A  young  lady 
called  upon  her  pastor  with  this  request; 


120      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

"I  wish  that  you  would  tell  me  of  some  good 
books  to  read.  I'm  tired  of  reading  nothing 
but  novels,  and  want  to  find  some  books  that  are 
worth  while.  Can't  you  give  me  the  names  of 
some  such  books?'* 

The  minister  thought  a  moment,  and  then  said 
slowly,  "Well,  what  kind  of  books  do  you  want — 
religious  books,  for  instance?" 

"No,"  said  the  girl,  "I  do  not  know  as  I  wish  to 
read  about  religion.  I  get  that  in  the  church  and 
the  Sunday  School.  But  there  must  be  some  good 
books  of  other  kinds — can't  you  tell  me  of  them?" 

"What  would  you  think  of  a  course  of  reading 
in  history  ? ' '  asked  the  pastor.  Her  face  brightened 
somewhat,  and  she  answered,  "Why,  I  think  that 
I  might  like  to  read  history.  What  would  you 
recommend  for  me?" 

The  minister  glanced  at  his  own  shelves,  thought 
a  moment,  and  then  said,  "Well,  I  can't  all  at  once 
name  a  course  on  such  an  important  subject  as 
history.  Come  next  Wednesday,  and  I'll  have  a 
list  of  good  books  for  you." 

She  came,  and  he  showed  her  a  formidable 
catalogue  of  books,  saying: 

"I  have  done  the  best  that  I  could  do,  but  the 
list  is  longer  than  I  had  expected.  It  includes 
eighty  volumes.  I  wrote  down  one  hundred  and 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   121 

twenty  volumes  at  first,  but  cut  it  down  to  eighty, 
and  it  cannot  be  made  shorter,  not  by  a  single 
volume.  In  fact,  it  is  not  as  complete  as  it 
should  be.  You  will  begin  with  the  greatest  book 
of  history  in  all  literature — Gibbon's  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  nine  volumes ! " 

The  young  lady  was  appalled,  and  never  went 
through  the  first  chapter  of  Gibbon's  mighty  work. 
This  was  before  the  Chautauqua  Home  Reading 
Course  was  evolved .  After  that  had  been  launched 
any  intelligent  minister,  or  helpful  librarian,  would 
simply  have  said  to  the  enquirer,  "Send  for  a 
circular  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.;  that  will  give  you 
exactly  what  you  need." 

There  comes  to  my  own  mind  a  vivid  remem- 
brance of  that  evening  when  for  the  first  time  I 
heard  those  magic  words — "The  Chautauqua 
Literary  and  Scientific  Circle."  In  the  early 
spring  of  1878,  Dr.  Vincent  had  just  returned  from 
an  official  visit  to  Europe,  and  I  was  no  longer  at 
Plainfield,  five  minutes'  walk  from  his  home,  but 
by  the  revolution  of  the  itinerant  wheel  a  pastor, 
thirty  miles  distant.  A  message  came  asking 
me  to  spend  an  evening  with  him  and  talk  over 
some  new  plans  for  Chautauqua.  Of  course,  I 
obeyed  the  call,  for  I  always  gained  more  than  I 
gave  in  any  conversation  with  that  fruitful  mind. 


122      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

We  sat  in  front  of  the  fireplace  in  his  study,  and 
I  listened  while  for  an  hour  he  talked  of  a  new 
organization  which  he  proposed  to  launch  in  the 
coming  season,  to  be  named  The  Chautauqua 
Literary  and  Scientific  Circle;  with  a  course  of 
study  to  be  carried  through  four  years,  with  forty 
minutes  as  each  day's  task,  for  nine  or  ten  months 
of  each  year,  in  the  various  branches  of  knowledge, 
analogous  to  the  four  years  of  college  study.  He 
was  so  full  of  his  theme  and  so  eloquent  upon  it 
that  I  could  only  listen  to  the  outpouring  utter- 
ances. The  general  purpose  was  clear  before  him, 
but  not  the  details  of  its  operation.  Dr.  Vincent's 
eyes  were  ever  set  upward  toward  the  mountain- 
tops  glorious  in  the  sunlight,  and  he  did  not  always 
think  of  the  thickets  to  be  cut  and  the  path  to  be 
made  from  the  lower  plain  to  the  summit.  I  could 
see  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  some 
obstacles  that  must  be  overcome,  and  sagely  shook 
my  head  in  doubt  of  the  scheme.  It  was  a  radical 
departure  from  the  earlier  ideals,  for  thus  far 
everything  on  the  Chautauqua  program  had  been 
along  the  line  of  Sunday  School  training,  and  this 
was  a  forsaking  of  the  well-trodden  path  for  a  new 
world  of  secular  education.  Why  try  to  rival  the 
high  schools  and  arouse  the  criticism  of  the  col- 
leges? How  would  the  regular  constituency 


Pioneer  Hall:  Class  of  1882.     C.  L.  S.  C. 


Old  College  Building 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   123 

of  Chautauqua  feel  at  this  innovation?  No 
doubt  under  the  spell  of  his  enthusiasm,  some 
would  join  the  proposed  class  in  literature  and 
science — but  how  could  science  be  studied  by  un- 
trained people  without  laboratories,  or  apparatus, 
or  teachers?  And  after  the  spell  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua season  would  not  the  pledges  be  forgotten 
at  home,  and  the  numbers  in  the  home  classes 
soon  dwindle  away  to  nothing? 

Dr.  Vincent  asked  me  a  question  as  we  sat  in  the 
glow  of  the  fireplace.  ''How  many  do  you  think 
can  be  depended  on  to  carry  on  such  a  course  as  is 
proposed?" 

"Oh,  perhaps  a  hundred!"  I  answered. 
"People  who  want  to  read  will  find  books,  and 
those  who  don't  care  for  reading  will  soon  tire  of 
serious  study." 

The  doctor  sprang  up  from  his  chair  and  walked 
nervously  across  the  room.  "I  tell  you,  Mr. 
Hurlbut,  the  time  will  come  when  you  will  see  a 
thousand  readers  in  the  C.  L.  S.  C." 

I  smiled,  the  smile  of  kindly  unbelief!  His 
impulse,  his  dream  was  noble,  to  be  sure,  but  so 
utterly  impracticable.  I  tell  this  little  tale  to 
show  how  far  below  the  reality  were  the  expec- 
tations of  us  both.  Only  a  few  years  after  this 
conversation  the  enrolled  members  of  the 


124      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

C.  L.  S.  C.  counted  sixty  thousand  readers  pursu- 
ing the  course  at  one  time,  with  probably  as  many 
more  readers  unregistered. 

The  opening  evening  of  the  Assembly  was  held 
on  Tuesday  evening,  August  6th.  The  vesper 
service  beginning,  ''The  Day  goeth  away,  The 
Shadows  of  evening  are  stretched  out,  Praise 
waiteth  for  Thee,  O  God,  in  Zion,"  etc.,  was  read 
responsively  in  the  Auditorium  between  the 
Miller  Cottage  and  the  Vincent  tent,  then  not  far 
from  the  Point,  when  a  sudden  shower  fell  and  a 
general  rush  was  made  to  the  new  Pavilion  in  the 
ravine  on  the  west.  That  was  the  last  opening 
service  attempted  out-of-doors.  Since  that  even- 
ing, the  Pavilion,  soon  to  become  the  Amphi- 
theater, has  supplied  the  stage  for  the  speakers, 
sedate  or  humorous,  short  or  long, — some  of  them 
longer  than  the  audience  desired — on  "Old  First 
Night."  A  few  lectures  were  given  from  time  to 
time  in  the  old  Auditorium,  but  after  the  season  of 
1879  it  was  left  for  smaller  meetings  of  couples 
in  communion  of  soul  on  the  seats  here  and  there 
under  the  trees. 

The  inauguration  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary 
and  Scientific  Circle  took  place  in  the  Pavilion 
on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  August  10,  1878. 
On  the  platform,  then  lower  than  most  of  the  seats, 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   125 

were  a  telescope,  a  microscope,  a  globe,  some 
scientific  apparatus,  and  a  table  filled  with  books, 
giving  a  scholastic  setting  to  the  exercises.  Dr. 
Vincent  presided,  and  with  him  were  Bishop 
Randolph  S.  Foster  of  Boston,  Dr.  Henry  W.  War- 
ren of  Philadelphia,  himself  two  years  afterward 
to  become  a  bishop,  Professor  William  C.  Wilkin- 
son, whose  pen  in  the  following  years  wrote  many 
books  for  the  readers  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  Professor 
James  Strong  of  wide  learning,  and  several  other 
eminent  men.  The  address  of  the  day,  unfolding 
the  purpose  and  plan  of  the  Circle,  was  given  by 
Dr.  Vincent.  Many  of  us  who  heard  him  on  that 
afternoon  have  thought  since  that  this  was  the 
masterpiece  of  his  lifetime,  and  it  might  worthily 
be  so,  for  it  launched  a  movement  in  education, 
the  most  influential  and  wide-reaching  of  any  in 
the  annals  of  the  nation. 

I  wish  that  it  were  possible  to  reprint  that  great 
address  as  reported  in  full  in  the  Assembly  Herald, 
for  never  was  the  conception  of  Chautauqua  at 
home  for  nine  months  of  the  year  more  clearly  set 
forth,  but  a  few  quotations  and  outlines  must  suffice. 
He  began  by  calling  attention  to  four  classes  of 
people.  First,  those  who  inherit  from  their 
ancestors  wealth,  ease,  and  large  intellectual 
opportunities,  who  find  college  doors  opening 


126      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

almost  of  their  own  accord  before  them.  Second, 
there  are  those  born  under  the  necessity  of  daily 
toil.  For  these  the  education  of  the  public  school 
is  provided ;  but  it  is  limited  and  rarely  appreciated. 
Children  go  to  school  to  get  knowledge  enough  for 
bread- winning  and  no  more.  Third,  there  are 
those  who,  born  under  necessity,  struggle  into 
opportunity,  fight  their  way  up  into  power,  and 
make  themselves  the  intellectual  heroes  of  their 
time.  Fourth,  there  are  many  born  under  neces- 
sity, who  lack  the  vision  at  the  beginning,  who 
enter  upon  a  life  of  trade  or  labor  which  may  bring 
them  success,  but  who  gradually  awake  to  realize 
how  much  they  have  lost,  without  realizing  that  it 
is  never  too  late  to  gain  culture  and  that  education 
ends  only  with  life.  This  is  the  class  in  every 
community  which  our  new  organization  aims  to 
reach,  to  uplift,  to  inspire  and  stimulate.  We 
propose  to  give  to  these  people  in  every  walk  of 
life,  both  the  rich,  the  middle  class,  and  the  poor- 
all  in  one  class  in  their  condition  and  their  needs — 
the  college  student's  outlook  upon  the  world  of 
thought,  by  short  studies  in  literature  and  science, 
by  the  reading  of  books,  by  the  preparation  of 
synopses  of  books  read,  by  written  reports  of  books 
read,  and  by  correspondence  with  experts  in  the 
several  departments. 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   127 

Here  are  some  of  the  advantages  of  this  organi- 
zation: It  will  develop  higher  and  nobler  tastes, 
increase  mental  power,  exalt  home-life,  giving  author- 
ity and  home-help  in  public  school  studies  and  organiz- 
ing homes  into  reading  circles.  It  will  counteract 
the  influence  of  our  modern  pernicious  literature  and 
sweeten  and  enrich  the  daily  lives  of  poor  and  hard- 
working people.  It  will  bring  the  more  cultivated 
people  into  contact  with  the  less  scholarly,  promote 
a  true  appreciation  of  science,  and  tend  to  increase 
the  spiritual  life  and  power  of  the  church.  All  knowl- 
edge becomes  glorified  in  the  man  whose  heart  is 
consecrated  to  God. 

As  I  copy  these  words  in  the  year  1920,  more  than 
forty  years  after  they  were  spoken  and  printed,  with 
each  sentence  there  rise  to  my  mind  instances  that 
have  come  to  my  own  knowledge  of  every  one  of 
these  prophecies  fulfilled.  Chautauqua  through  its 
home-reading  course  has  accomplished  far  more 
than  its  founder  even  dreamed. 

The  speaker  answered  an  objection  to  the  plan 
of  study  based  upon  its  superficiality. 

Superficial  it  is,  and  so  is  any  college  course  of 
study.  The  boy  who  stands  at  the  close  of  his  senior 
year,  on  Commencement  Day,  to  receive  his  parch- 
ment and  whatever  honors  belong  to  him,  who  does 
not  feel  that  his  whole  course  has  been  superficial, 
will  not  be  likely  to  succeed  in  the  after  struggle  of  life. 
But  superficiality  is  better  than  absolute  ignorance. 
It  is  better  for  a  man  to  take  a  general  survey,  to 


128      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

catch  somewhere  a  point  that  arrests  him;  for  the  man 
who  never  takes  a  survey  never  catches  the  point  in 
which  dwell  the  possibilities  of  power  for  him.  When 
you  sow  seed,  it  is  not  the  weight  of  the  seed  put  into 
the  soil  that  tells,  it  is  the  weight  of  the  harvest  that 
comes  after. 

Here  are  some  of  the  closing  words  of  the  address : 

How  glad  I  should  be  if  I  should  find  in  the  future 
years  that  more  boys  and  girls  are  going  to  our  high 
schools  and  universities  because  of  the  impulse  re- 
ceived here  at  Chautauqua !  And  I  say  to  you :  with 
all  your  getting,  get  understanding.  Look  through 
microscopes,  but  find  God.  Look  through  telescopes, 
but  find  God.  Look  for  Him  revealed  in  the  throb- 
bing life  about  you,  in  the  palpitating  stars  above,  in 
the  marvelous  records  of  the  earth  beneath  you,  and  in 
your  own  souls.  Study  the  possibilities  which  God 
unfolds,  and  make  of  yourself  all  that  you  can.  The 
harder  the  struggle,  the  brighter  the  crown.  Have 
faith  and  holy  purpose.  Go  on  to  know  and  to  will, 
to  do  and  be.  When  outward  circumstances  dis- 
courage, trample  the  circumstances  under  foot.  Be 
master  of  circumstances,  like  the  king  that  God  has 
called  you  to  be.  God  give  you  such  hearts,  such  toil, 
such  triumphs,  and  give  you  such  masterhood  as  shall 
one  day  place  you  among  the  kings  and  priests  of  a 
redeemed  and  purified  universe ! 

After  the  applause  following  this  address  sub- 
sided, a  poem  was  read,  written  for  the  occasion 
by  the  ever-ready  Mary  A.  Lathbury.  It  pictured 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   129 

the  modern  Chautauqua  as  representing  the  old 
Jerusalem  which  pilgrims  sought  for  worship  and 
inspiration.  We  can  only  quote  its  final  stanzas: 

The  Life  of  God  is  shining 

Upon  her  where  she  stands; 
And  leaf  by  leaf  unfolding 

Within  her  reverent  hands, 
The  earth  and  seas  and  heavens 

Disclose  her  secrets  old, 
And  every  force  of  Nature 

Reveals  its  heart  of  gold ! 
Now  knoweth  she  the  answer 

That  ends  the  schoolmen's  strife, — 
That  knowledge  bears  no  blossom 

Till  quickened  by  the  Life. 

O  holy,  holy  city! 

The  life  of  God  with  men! 
Descending  out  of  heaven 

To  ne'er  ascend  again. 
O  Light,  O  Life  immortal ! 

One  sea  above,  below! 
If  unto  us  be  given 

That  blessed  thing, — to  know — 
Hope's  beatific  vision, 

And  Faith's  prophetic  sight 
Shall  die  before  the  fullness 

Of  that  unclouded  Light. 

After  the  reading  of  the  poem,  Dr.  Vincent  said, 
"In  the  preparation  for  this  important  occasion,  I 
have  consulted  some  of  the  most  experienced  and 


130      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

practical  educators  of  the  country,  and  from  a 
number  of  distinguished  gentlemen  I  have  received 
letters  relating  to  this  movement." 

We  can  only  quote  a  sentence  or  two  from  a  few 
of  these  letters. 

Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  wrote: 

It  seems  to  me  if  you  can  lay  out  such  plans  of 
study,  particularly  in  the  departments  of  practical 
science,  as  will  fit  our  boys  and  young  men  in  the  min- 
ing, manufacturing,  and  agricultural  districts  to 
become,  in  a  true  though  not  ambitious  sense  of  the 
term,  scientific  and  intelligent  miners,  mechanics,  and 
farmers,  you  will  have  done  more  to  put  down  strikes 
and  labor  riots  than  an  army  cou  Id ;  and  more  to  solve 
the  labor  problem  than  will  be  done  by  the  Babel- 
builders  of  a  hundred  labor-reform  conventions. 

Professor  Luther  T.  Townsend,  of  Boston 
University : 

Your  plan  for  the  promotion  of  Christian  culture  in 
art,  science,  and  literature,  among  the  masses  of  the 
American  people,  strikes  me  as  one  of  the  grandest 
conceptions  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge,  of  Princeton : 

The  scheme  is  a  grand  one,  and  only  needs  to  insure 
its  success  that  efficient  administration  which  has 
so  eminently  characterized  all  your  enterprises. 
History  and  nature  are  the  spheres  in  which  God 
exercises  his  perfections,  through  which  they  are 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE    131 

manifested  to  us.  All  human  knowledge  should  be  com- 
prehended in  the  one  system  of  which  Christ  is  the  cen- 
ter, and  illuminated  with  the  light  of  revelation. 

Dr.  Arthur  Oilman: 

Your  fears  of  "superficiality"  do  not  trouble  me. 
For  your  course  will  probably  aim  rather  to  direct 
the  mind  toward  the  way  in  which  you  wish  it  to 
develop,  than  store  it  with  the  details  of  knowledge. 
You  wish  to  awaken,  rather  than  cultivate. 

Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  of  New  York: 

Your  scheme  to  induce  business  men  and  others 
to  pursue  useful  courses  of  reading  in  science  and 
history  is  worthy  of  all  commendation.  While  we 
cannot  expect  to  make  such  persons  scientists  or 
scholars,  we  may  expect  them  to  become  appreciative 
of  things  scientific  or  scholarly,  and  to  be  able  to 
discriminate  between  the  false  and  the  true. 

He  added  some  valuable  suggestions  regarding 
the  kind  of  books  that  should  be  chosen;  and  the 
hope  that  the  course,  instead  of  becoming  a  substi- 
tute for  the  college,  might  lead  to  the  college. 

Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems,  of  New  York,  gave  his 
heartiest  approval  of  the  plan,  and  stated  that  he 
was  holding  in  his  own  church  classes  in  all  the 
departments  named,  and  would  enroll  them  under 
the  Chautauqua  system,  with  examinations  and 
the  diploma  at  the  completion  of  the  course. 


132      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Dr.  William  F.  Warren,  President  of  Boston 
University,  wrote  a  letter  in  which  he  said : 

You  are  aiming  to  secure  that  without  which 
every  system  of  education  is  weak,  and  with  which  any 
is  strong;  namely,  interested  personal  home  work 
the  year  round.  And  you  seem  to  carry  these  home 
students  to  the  point  where  they  can  go  alone,  if  they 
cannot  have  the  help  of  the  schools. 

One  of  these  letters  must  be  given  in  full,  not- 
withstanding its  length.  Dr.  Vincent  introduced 
it  with  an  account  of  his  interview  with  its  author, 
the  venerable  William  Cullen  Bryant,  the  oldest 
of  his  group — the  American  poets  of  the  mid- 
century. 

I  wrote  him  afterward  a  long  letter  [said  Dr. 
Vincent],  defining  the  scheme  more  fully.  While 
in  London  a  few  weeks  ago  I  received  from  him  the 
following  letter,  written  with  his  own  hand, — written 
but  a  few  weeks  before  his  death.  This  letter  has 
never  been  read  in  public  and  has  never  been  in  print. 

NEW  YORK,  May  18,  1878. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  cannot  be  present  at  the  meeting  called  to  organize 
the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle,  but  I 
am  glad  that  such  a  movement  is  on  foot,  and  wish 
it  the  fullest  success.  There  is  an  attempt  to  make 
science,  or  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  material 
universe,  an  ally  of  the  school  which  denies  a  separate 
spiritual  existence  and  a  future  life;  in  short,  to  borrow 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   133 

of  science  weapons  to  be  used  against  Christianity. 
The  friends  of  religion,  therefore,  confident  that  one 
truth  never  contradicts  another,  are  doing  wisely 
when  they  seek  to  accustom  the  people  at  large  to 
think  and  to  weigh  evidence  as  well  as  to  believe. 
By  giving  a  portion  of  their  time  to  a  vigorous  training 
of  the  intellect,  and  a  study  of  the  best  books,  men 
gain  the  power  to  deal  satisfactorily  with  questions 
with  which  the  mind  might  otherwise  have  become 
bewildered.  It  is  true  that  there  is  no  branch  of 
human  knowledge  so  important  as  that  which  teaches 
the  duties  that  we  owe  to  God  and  to  each  other,  and 
that  there  is  no  law  of  the  universe,  sublime  and 
wonderful  as  it  may  be,  so  worthy  of  being  made  fully 
known  as  the  law  of  love,  which  makes  him  who  obeys 
it  a  blessing  to  his  species,  and  the  universal  observance 
of  which  would  put  an  end  to  a  large  proportion  of  the 
evils  which  affect  mankind.  Yet  is  a  knowledge  of 
the  results  of  science,  and  such  of  its  processes  as  lie 
most  open  to  the  popular  mind,  important  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  the  different  spheres  occupied  by 
science  and  religion,  and  preventing  the  inquirer  from 
mistaking  their  divergence  from  each  other  for 
opposition. 

I  perceive  this  important  advantage  in  the  proposed 
organization,  namely,  that  those  who  engage  in  it  will 
mutually  encourage  each  other.  It  will  give  the 
members  a  common  pursuit,  which  always  begets  a 
feeling  of  brotherhood;  they  will  have  a  common  topic 
of  conversation  and  discussion,  and  the  consequence 
will  be,  that  many  who,  if  they  stood  alone,  might  soon 
grow  weary  of  the  studies  which  are  recommended  to 
them,  will  be  incited  to  perseverance  by  the  interest 
which  they  see  others  taking  in  them.  It  may  happen 


134      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

in  rare  instances  that  a  person  of  eminent  mental 
endowments,  which  otherwise  might  have  remained 
uncultivated  and  unknown,  will  be  stimulated  in 
this  manner  to  diligence,  and  put  forth  unexpected 
powers,  and,  passing  rapidly  beyond  the  rest,  become 
greatly  distinguished,  and  take  a  place  among  the 
luminaries  of  the  age. 

I  shall  be  interested  to  watch,  during  the  little 
space  of  life  that  may  yet  remain  to  me,  the  progress 
and  results  of  the  plan  which  has  drawn  from  me 
this  letter. 

I  am,  Sir, 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

The  distinguished  writer  of  this  letter  died  only 
a  month  and  four  days  after  writing  it,  on  June  12, 
1878,  as  the  result  of  a  sunstroke  while  he  was 
making  an  address  at  the  unveiling  of  a  statue  in 
the  Central  Park.  He  was  in  the  eighty-fifth  year 
of  his  age. 

After  some  short  addresses  by  men  on  the  plat- 
form, Bishop  Foster,  Professor  Wilkinson,  Dr. 
Strong,  and  others,  Dr.  Vincent  announced  as  the 
first  book  of  the  course,  Green's  Short  History  of  the 
English  People,  and  invited  all  desirous  of  joining 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.  to  write  their  names  and  addresses 
upon  slips  of  paper  and  hand  them  to  anyone  on  the 
platform.  It  might  have  been  supposed  that 
a  circular  would  be  ready  containing  a  statement 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   135 

of  the  course  for  the  first  year,  regulations 
and  requirements  of  the  organization,  the  fee  of 
membership,  etc.;  but  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
time  those  desirable  requisites  had  been  forgotten. 
Everybody  looked  around  for  a  slip  of  paper. 
Visiting  cards  were  made  useful,  margins  were 
torn  off  newspapers,  and  there  was  an  overwhelm- 
ing rush  toward  the  platform  to  join  the  new 
circle.  On  that  afternoon  seven  hundred  names 
were  received  and  the  number  grew  hourly  until 
the  close  of  the  Assembly.  Nearly  all  the  regular 
year-by-year  visitors  to  Chautauqua  became 
members  of  this  "Pioneer  Class,"  as  it  was  after- 
wards named;  and  to  this  day  its  fellowship,  after 
forty-two  years,  still  continues  one  of  the  largest 
at  its  annual  gatherings  in  Pioneer  Hall,  the  build- 
ing which  it  erected  as  its  home. 

The  book-store  was  crowded  with  applicants 
for  Green's  History,  and  the  few  copies  on  hand, 
not  more  than  half  a  dozen,  were  instantaneously 
disposed  of.  An  order  was  telegraphed  to  the 
Harper  Brothers  in  New  York  for  fifty  copies,  on 
the  next  morning  for  fifty  more,  then  for  another 
hundred,  day  after  day  the  demand  increasing. 
The  Harpers  were  astounded  at  the  repeated  calls, 
and  telegraphed  for  particulars  as  to  the  reason 
why  everybody  at  an  almost  unknown  place 


136      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

called  Chautauqua  had  gone  wild  in  demand  for 
this  book.  Their  stock  on  hand  was  exhausted 
long  before  the  Assembly  was  ended,  and  most 
of  the  members  of  this  "Class  of  1882"  were 
compelled  to  wait  a  month  or  more  for  their  books. 
Public  libraries  were  by  no  means  numerous  in 
those  days  while  Andrew  Carnegie  was  making 
the  millions  to  be  spent  later  in  establishing  them, 
but  wherever  they  were,  Green's  Short  History 
was  drawn  out,  and  a  waiting  list  made  for  it, 
to  the  amazement  of  librarians,  who  vainly  pro- 
posed the  substitution  of  other  standard  English 
histories.  Whoever  could  buy,  borrow,  or  beg  a 
copy  of  Green,  rejoiced — we  hope  that  no  Chau- 
tauquan,  in  his  hunger  for  literature,  stole  one,  but 
we  are  not  sure.  People  otherwise  honest  have  been 
known  to  retain  borrowed  umbrellas  and  books. 

In  the  Class  of  1882  eight  thousand  four  hundred 
names  were  enrolled,  for  the  members  brought 
home  from  Chautauqua  the  good  news,  and 
families,  neighbors,  and  friends  everywhere  sent 
in  their  applications.  Later  we  shall  learn  what 
proportion  of  these  followed  the  course  through 
the  four  years  and  marched  under  the  arches  to 
their  Recognition  as  graduates. 

An  addition  had  been  made  to  the  grounds  on 
the  west,  and  here  Dr.  Vincent  chose  a  square 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE  137 

shaded  by  abundant  beech-trees,  as  the  center 
and  home  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  He  named  it  St. 
Paul's  Grove,  choosing  the  apostle  who  repre- 
sented the  combination  of  the  fervent  heart  and 
the  cultured  mind,  an  ideal  for  all  Chautauquans. 
Besides  Dr.  Vincent's  address  at  this  time,  an- 
other was  given  by  Governor  A.  H.  Colquitt  of 
Georgia,  President  of  the  International  Sunday 
School  Convention.  The  dedicatory  prayer  was 
offered  by  Bishop  Foster  and  an  appropriate 
hymn  written  by  Dr.  Hyde  of  Denver  was  sung 
by  Professor  Sherwin  and  his  choir.  St.  Paul's 
Grove,  and  its  pillared  temple  soon  to  rise,  will 
appear  often  in  our  story  as  one  of  the  sacred  spots 
at  Chautauqua. 

We  must  not  overlook  the  daily  program  during 
this  epoch-making  season  of  1878.  There  were 
the  daily  classes  studying  Greek  and  Hebrew 
under  Drs.  Strong  and  Vail.  There  was  a  class 
in  microscopy,  with  the  Misses  Lattimore;  there 
was  the  normal  class  with  a  full  number  of  students 
ending  with  the  successful  examination  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  forty  new  members  of  the 
Normal  Alumni  Association.  The  annual  reunion 
of  the  Normal  Alumni  was  celebrated  with 
the  usual  banners,  procession,  address,  the  illumi- 
nated fleet  and  fireworks. 


138      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

The  lecture  platform  of  1878  stood  at  as  high 
a  level  as  ever.  If  any  one  speaker  bore  off  the 
honors  of  that  year,  it  was  Bishop  Randolph 
S.  Foster  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
whose  lectures  on  "Beyond  the  Grave"  drew  the 
largest  audiences  and  aroused  the  deepest  interest. 
They  were  afterward  published  in  a  volume  which 
attracted  wide  attention,  and  brought  some 
criticism  from  preachers  of  the  conservative 
school.  There  were  even  some  who  talked  of  an 
impeachment  and  trial,  but  they  did  not  venture 
to  bring  the  greatest  thinker  and  theologian  in 
their  church  to  the  bar.  Other  lecturers  who 
made  their  mark  were  Dr.  Robert  M.  Hatfield 
of  Chicago,  President  Charles  H.  Fowler,  Dr. 
(soon  after  Bishop)  John  F.  Hurst,  Dr.  John  Lord, 
the  historian-lecturer,  Dr.  Joseph  Cook,  Professor 
William  North  Rice,  Dr.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage, 
with  his  entertaining  lecture  on  "Big  Blunders," 
and  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems  on  "The  Superstitions 
of  Science." 

One  remarkable  meeting  was  held  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  opening  day,  Tuesday,  August  6th. 
In  the  Pavilion  four  men  gave  in  turn  the  dis- 
tinctive doctrines  and  usages  of  their  several 
churches.  These  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seymour, 
Baptist,  Rev.  Mr.  Williston,  Congregationalist, 


CHAUTAUQUA  READING  CIRCLE   139 

Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  Methodist,  and  Rev.  J.  A. 
Worden,  Presbyterian.  Without  attempt  at  con- 
troversy or  criticism  each  speaker  named  the 
principles  for  which  his  branch  of  the  Holy  Catho- 
lic Church  stood.  There  was  the  most  cordial  feel- 
ing. Each  listener  believed  as  strongly  as  before 
in  his  own  denomination,  but  many  felt  a  greater 
respect  for  the  other  branches  of  the  true  vine.  At 
the  close  all  the  congregation  sang  together, 

Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love. 

A  new  building  took  its  place  upon  the  grounds, 
and  speedily  became  the  center  of  many  activities. 
It  was  called  "The  Children's  Temple,"  built 
through  the  generous  gift  of  President  Lewis 
Miller,  in  the  general  plan  of  his  Sunday  School 
Hall  at  Akron,  Ohio,  a  central  assembly  room 
with  folding  doors  opening  or  closing  a  number  of 
classrooms  around  it.  For  many  years  it  was  the 
home  of  the  Children's  Class,  under  Rev.  B.  T. 
Vincent  and  Frank  Beard,  which  grew  to  an 
attendance  of  three  hundred  daily.  They  wore 
badges  of  membership,  passed  examinations  upon 
a  systematic  course,  and  received  diplomas. 
Soon  an  Intermediate  Department  became  neces- 
sary for  those  who  had  completed  the  children's 


140      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

course,  and  this  also  grew  into  a  large  body  of 
members  and  graduates. 

A  host  of  events  on  this  great  Chautauqua  sea- 
son of  1878  must  be  omitted  from  this  too  long 
chapter  in  our  story. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR 

DURING  those  early  years  the  Chautauqua 
sessions  were  strenuous  weeks  to  both  Miller  and 
Vincent.  Mr.  Miller  brought  to  Chautauqua  for  a 
number  of  seasons  his  normal  class  of  young  people 
from  the  Akron  Sunday  School,  requiring  them  to 
attend  the  Chautauqua  normal  class  and  to  take 
its  examination.  He  acted  also  as  Superintendent 
of  the  Assembly  Sunday  School,  which  was  like 
organizing  a  new  school  of  fifteen  hundred  mem- 
bers every  Sunday,  on  account  of  the  constant 
coming  and  going  of  students  and  teachers.  But 
Mr.  Miller's  time  and  thoughts  were  so  con- 
stantly taken  up  with  secular  details,  leasing  lots, 
cutting  down  trees,  and  setting  up  tents,  settling 
disputes  with  lot  holders  and  ticket  holders,  and  a 
thousand  and  one  business  matters  great  and  small 
— especially  after  successive  purchases  had  more 
than  doubled  the  territory  of  the  Assembly, — that 
he  was  able  to  take  part  in  but  few  of  its  exercises. 
One  out  of  many  perplexing  situations  may  be 

141 


142      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

taken  as  a  specimen.  In  one  purchase  was 
included  a  small  tract  on  the  lake-shore  outside 
the  original  camp  ground,  where  some  families 
from  a  distance  had  purchased  holdings  and  built 
small  cottages,  being  independent  both  of  the 
camp-meeting  and  the  Assembly.  Some  members 
of  this  colony  claimed  the  right  of  way  to  go  in  and 
out  of  the  Assembly  at  all  times,  Sundays  as  well  as 
week-days,  to  attend  lectures  and  classes  without 
purchasing  tickets.  Others  in  the  older  parts  of 
the  ground  under  camp-meeting  leases  declared 
themselves  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  new  rules 
made  by  the  Assembly  trustees.  A  strong  party 
appeared  demanding  that  the  lot  owners  as  a  body 
should  elect  the  trustees, — which  meant  that  the 
future  of  a  great  and  growing  educational  institu- 
tion should  be  shaped  not  by  a  carefully  selected 
Board  under  the  guidance  of  two  idealists, — one 
of  whom  was  at  the  same  time  a  practical  business- 
man, a  rare  combination, — but  by  a  gathering 
of  lot-holders,  not  all  of  them  intelligent,  and  the 
majority  people  who  were  keeping  boarding- 
houses  and  were  more  eager  for  dollars  than  for 
culture.  I  remember  a  conversation  with  the 
proprietor  of  one  of  the  largest  boarding-houses 
who  urged  that  the  grounds  be  left  open,  with  no 
gate-fees  or  tickets;  but  instead  a  ticket-booth  at 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      143 

the  entrance  to  each  lecture-hall,  so  that  people 
would  be  required  to  pay  only  for  such  lectures 
and  entertainments  as  they  chose  to  attend!  I 
could  name  some  Assemblies  calling  themselves 
chautauquas,  where  this  policy  was  pursued;  and 
almost  invariably  one  season  or  at  most  two 
seasons  terminated  their  history. 

Added  to  these  and  other  perplexities  was  the 
ever-present  question  of  finance.  The  rapid 
growth  of  the  movement  caused  a  requirement  of 
funds  far  beyond  the  revenue  of  the  Association. 
Its  income  came  mainly  from  the  gate-fees,  to 
which  was  added  a  small  tax  upon  each  lot,  and 
the  concessions  to  store-keepers;  for  the  prices 
obtained  by  the  leasing  of  new  lots  must  be  held 
as  a  sinking  fund  to  pay  off  the  mortgages  incurred 
in  their  purchase.  There  came  also  an  imperative 
demand  for  a  water-supply  through  an  aqueduct, 
a  sewer-system,  and  other  sanitary  arrangements 
made  absolutely  necessary  by  the  increase  of 
population.  In  those  years  Mr.  Miller's  purse 
was  constantly  opened  to  meet  pressing  needs,  and 
his  credit  enabled  the  trustees  to  obtain  loans 
and  mortgages.  But  despite  his  multitudinous 
cares  and  burdens,  no  one  ever  saw  Mr.  Miller 
harassed  or  nervous.  He  was  always  unruffled, 
always  pleasant,  even  smiling  under  the  most 


144      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

trying  conditions.  His  head  was  always  clear, 
his  insight  into  the  needs  not  only  of  the  time  but 
of  the  future  also  was  always  sure,  and  his 
spinal  column  was  strong  enough  to  stand  firm 
against  the  heaviest  pressure.  He  knew  in- 
stinctively when  it  was  wise  to  conciliate,  and 
when  it  was  essential  to  be  positive.  The  present 
generation  of  Chautauquans  can  never  realize 
how  great  is  their  debt  of  gratitude  to  Lewis  Miller. 
The  inventor  and  manufacturer  of  harvesting 
machines  at  Akron  and  Canton,  Ohio,  busy  at  his 
desk  for  eleven  months,  found  the  Swiss  Cottage 
beside  Chautauqua  Lake  by  no  means  a  place  of 
rest  during  his  brief  vacation. 

Nor  were  the  burdens  upon  the  other  Founder 
lighter  than  those  of  his  associate.  The  two  men 
talked  and  corresponded  during  the  year  regarding 
the  coming  program,  but  the  selection,  engage- 
ment, and  arrangement  of  the  speakers  was  mainly 
Dr.  Vincent's  part.  At  the  same  hour,  often 
half  a  dozen  meetings  would  be  held,  and  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  have  them  in  conflict  in  their 
location  and  their  speakers.  Changes  in  the 
program  must  often  be  made  suddenly  after  a 
telegram  from  some  lecturer  that  he  could  not 
arrive  on  the  morrow.  New  features  must  be 
introduced  as  the  demand  and  the  opportunity 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      145 

arose, — the  Baptists,  or  Methodists,  or  Congre- 
gationalists,  or  Disciples  desired  a  meeting,  for 
which  an  hour  and  a  place  must  be  found.  The 
only  one  who  kept  the  list  of  the  diversified  as- 
semblages was  Dr.  Vincent.  He  had  no  secre- 
tary in  those  days  to  sit  at  a  desk  in  an  office  and 
represent  the  Superintendent  of  Instruction.  His 
tent  at  the  foot  of  the  grounds  was  a  stage  whereon 
entrances  and  exits  were  constant.  Moreover,  the 
audience  was  apt  to  measure  the  importance  of  a 
lecture  by  the  presence  of  Dr.  Vincent  as  presiding 
officer  or  a  substitute  in  his  place  introducing 
the  speaker.  The  Vincent  temperament  was  less 
even  and  placid  than  the  Miller ;  and  the  Assembly 
of  those  early  years  generally  closed  with  its 
Superintendent  in  a  worn-out  physical  condition. 
And  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Dr.  Vincent 
like  his  Associate  Founder  was  a  busy  working 
man  all  the  year.  He  was  in  charge  of  the  Sunday 
School  work  in  a  great  church,  supervising  Sunday 
Schools  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Kiu-kiang,  and 
Calcutta,  as  well  as  in  Bangor  and  Seattle.  At 
his  desk  in  New  York  and  Plainfield  he  was  the 
editor  of  nine  periodicals,  aided  by  a  small  number 
of  assistants.  Several  months  of  every  year  were 
spent  in  a  visitation  of  Methodist  Conference 
setting  forth  the  work,  and  stirring  up  a  greater 


146      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

interest  in  it.  He  was  lecturing  and  preaching  and 
taking  part  in  conventions  and  institutes  every- 
where in  the  land.  Chautauqua  was  only  one  of 
the  many  activities  occupying  his  mind,  his  heart, 
and  his  time. 

The  Assembly  of  1878,  with  the  inauguration  of 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  had  been  especially  exhausting  to 
Dr.  Vincent.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  his  feelings 
when  he  found  his  desks  in  the  office  and  the  home 
piled  high  with  letters  concerning  the  new  move- 
ment for  Chautauqua  readings  all  the  year.  He 
was  simply  overwhelmed  by  the  demands,  for 
everybody  must  have  an  immediate  answer. 
Walking  out  one  day,  he  met  one  of  the  teachers 
of  the  High  School,  told  her  of  his  difficulties,  and 
asked  her  if  she  could  suggest  anyone  who  might 
relieve  him.  She  thought  a  moment,  and  then 
said: 

"I  think  I  know  a  girl  of  unusual  ability  who 
can  help  you, — Miss  Kate  Kimball,  who  was 
graduated  from  the  High  School  last  June,  and  I 
will  send  her  to  you." 

She  came,  a  tall  young  lady,  only  eighteen  years 
old,  with  a  pair  of  brown  eyes  peculiarly  bright, 
and  a  manner  retiring  though  self-possessed.  Dr. 
Vincent  mentioned  some  of  the  help  that  he  re- 
quired, but  looked  doubtfully  at  her,  and  said, 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      147 

"I  am  afraid  that  you  are  too  young  to  undertake 
this  work." 

She  answered,  ' '  I  would  like  to  try  it ;  but  if  you 
find  that  I  am  not  equal  to  it,  I  will  not  be  offended 
to  have  it  given  to  some  other  person.  Let  me  see 
if  I  can  help  you  even  a  little." 

That  was  the  introduction  of  Miss  Kate  Fisher 
Kimball  to  the  work  and  care  of  the  Chautauqua 
Literary  and  Scientific  Circle,  of  which  she  was 
the  Executive  Secretary  until  her  death  in  1917. 
She  was  born  in  1860,  at  Orange,  New  Jersey,  her 
father,  Dr.  Horace  F.  Kimball,  being  a  dentist 
with  office  in  New  York.  Young  as  she  was,  she 
at  once  showed  rare  abilities  in  administration. 
Under  her  vigorous  and  wise  efforts,  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 
was  soon  reduced  to  a  system,  the  members  were 
classified,  the  course  was  made  orderly,  circulars 
of  various  sorts  were  prepared  and  sent  out  to 
answer  as  many  kinds  of  questions,  and  the  calls 
from  all  over  the  nation,  almost  all  over  the  world 
were  met.  Kate  Kimball  had  a  wonderful  mem- 
ory, as  well  as  a  systematic  mind.  Dr.  Vincent 
would  tell  her  in  one  sentence  the  answer  to  be  sent 
to  a  letter,  and  twenty  sentences  in  succession  for 
twenty  letters.  She  made  no  note,  but  remem- 
bered each  one;  would  write  to  each  correspondent 
a  letter  framed  as  it  should  be,  with  a  clear  state- 


148     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ment,  of  just  the  right  length,  never  getting  the 
wrong  answer  on  her  pen.  And  if  six  months 
afterward,  or  six  years,  there  came  a  letter  requir- 
ing the  same  answer,  she  did  not  need  to  ask  for 
information,  but  could  send  the  right  reply  with- 
out consulting  the  letter-file.  Thousands  of  cor- 
respondents who  may  never  have  met  her  will 
remember  that  signature,  "K.  F.  Kimball,"  for 
they  have  been  strengthened  and  inspired  by 
letters  signed  with  it. 

I  have  heard  more  than  one  person  say,  "I  want 
to  go  to  Chautauqua,  if  it  is  only  to  become 
acquainted  with  K.  F.  Kimball." 

Let  me  transcribe  a  few  sentences  written  by 
Mr.  Frank  Chapin  Bray,  who  as  Editor  of  The 
Chautauquan  Magazine,  was  for  years  in  close 
relation  with  Miss  Kimball. 

Many  will  always  think  of  her  as  a  kind  of  Chau- 
tauqua Mother  Superior.  The  details  of  the  work 
of  an  Executive  Secretary  are  not  transcribable  for 
they  were  multifarious  drudgeries  year  after  year 
which  defy  analysis.  During  thirty-five  years  she 
made  them  the  means  of  transmitting  a  great  idea  as 
a  dynamic  force  vital  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
men  and  women  the  world  around. 

Next  to  the  originating  genius  of  John  H. 
Vincent,  the  influence  which  made  the  Chautauqua 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR     149 

Home  Reading  Course  one  of  the  mightiest  edu- 
cational forces  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  the 
tireless  energy  and  the  executive  ability  of  Kate 
F.  Kimball. 

About  1912  she  was  suddenly  taken  with  an 
illness,  not  deemed  serious  at  the  time,  but  later 
found  to  have  been  a  slight  paralytic  shock.  She 
was  given  a  year's  vacation  from  office  work  and 
spent  most  of  it  in  England  and  on  the  continent. 
Some  of  her  friends  think  that  if  she  had  absolutely 
abstained  from  work,  she  might  have  recovered  her 
health;  but  while  in  England  she  visited  nearly  all 
its  great  cathedrals,  and  wrote  a  series  of  articles 
for  The  Chautauquan  on  "An  English  Cathedral 
Journey,"  afterward  embodied  in  one  of  the  best 
of  the  non-technical  books  on  that  subject.  She 
returned  to  her  desk,  but  not  in  her  former  vigor. 
Year  by  year  her  powers  of  thought  and  action 
declined,  and  she  died  June  17,  1917,  in  the  fifty- 
seventh  year  of  her  age,  leaving  after  her  not  only  a 
precious  memory  but  an  abiding  influence ;  for  the 
plans  initiated  by  her  adaptive  mind  are  still  those 
effective  in  the  shaping  of  the  Chautauqua  Circle. 

The  course  of  reading  for  the  first  year  was  as 
follows :  Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People; 
with  it  the  little  hand-book  by  Dr.  Vincent— 
Chautauqua  Text-Book  No.  4,  Outline  of  English 


150     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

History;  an  arrangement  by  periods,  enabling  the 
reader  to  arrange  the  events  in  order;  Chautauqua 
Text-Book  No.  5,  Outline  of  Greek  History;  Pro- 
fessor Mahaffy's  Old  Greek  Life;  Stopford  Brooke's 
Primer  of  English  Literature;  Chautauqua  Text- 
Book  No.  2,  Studies  of  the  Stars;  Dr.  H.  W.  War- 
ren's Recreations  in  Astronomy;  J.  Dorman  Steele's 
Human  Psychology;  Dr.  J.  F.  Hurst's,  Outlines  of 
Bible  History,  and  The  Word  of  God  Opened,  by 
Rev.  Bradford  K.  Pierce.  This  included  no  less 
than  eleven  books,  although  four  of  them  were  the 
small  Chautauqua  textbooks,  Nos.  2,  4,  5,  and  6. 
All  that  was  definitely  required  of  the  members 
was  that  they  should  sign  a  statement  that  these 
books  had  been  read ;  but  through  the  year  a  series 
of  sheets  was  sent  to  each  enrolled  member,  con- 
taining questions  for  examination,  under  the  title 
"Outline  Memoranda,"  in  order  not  to  alarm 
the  unschooled  reader  by  the  terror  of  an  exami- 
nation. Moreover,  the  student  was  at  liberty  to 
search  his  books,  consult  any  other  works,  and 
obtain  assistance  from  all  quarters  in  obtaining  the 
answers  to  the  questions.  These  questions  were 
of  two  kinds,  one  requiring  thought  on  the  part  of 
the  reader,  and  not  susceptible  of  answer  at  any 
given  page  of  the  book;  such  as:  "Name  the 
five  persons  whom  you  consider  the  greatest  in 


Hall  of  the  Christ 


Entrance  to  the  Hall  of  Philosophy 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      151 

the  history  of  England,  and  the  reasons  for  your 
choice,"  "Name  what  you  regard  as  five  of  the 
most  important  events  in  English  history,"  etc. 
There  were  some  other  questions,  of  which  the 
answer  might  or  might  not  be  found  in  any  books 
of  the  books  of  the  course,  but  questions  to  make 
the  reader  search  and  enquire;  such  as:  "What 
did  King  John  say  when  he  signed  Magna  Charta  ?" 
"With  what  words  did  Oliver  Cromwell  dismiss  the 
Long  Parliament?"  "What  were  the  last  words 
of  Admiral  Nelson?"  These  questions  brought 
difficulty,  not  only  to  readers,  but  to  school- 
teachers, pastors,  and  librarians,  to  whom  they 
were  propounded  by  puzzled  students.  At  one 
time  I  was  reading  of  a  convention  of  librarians, 
where  one  of  the  subjects  discussed  was,  how  to 
satisfy  the  hordes  of  Chautauquans  everywhere, 
asking  all  sorts  of  curious  questions.  The  veter- 
ans of  that  premier  class  of  1882  still  remember  the 
sheet  of  the  Outline  Memoranda  prepared  by  Dr. 
Warren,  on  his  book  Recreations  in  Astronomy. 
There  may  have  been  a  member  or  two  who  suc- 
ceeded in  answering  them  all,  but  their  names 
do  not  appear  on  any  record. 

Not  all  those,  who  in  an  hour  of  enthusiasm 
under  the  spell  of  Dr.  Vincent's  address  on  that 
opening  day,  wrote  their  names  as  members  of  the 


152      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

C.  L.  S.  C.  persevered  to  the  bitter  end  and  won 
the  diploma.  Of  the  8400  enrolled  in  the  first 
class,  only  1850  were  "recognized"  as  graduates 
in  1882.  Some  of  the  delinquents  afterward  took 
heart  of  grace,  and  finished  with  later  classes. 
But  even  those  who  fell  out  by  the  way  gained 
something,  perhaps  gained  an  enduring  impulse 
toward  good  reading.  We  frequently  received 
word  of  those  who  had  dropped  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  in 
order  to  obtain  a  preparation  for  college.  Dr. 
Edward  Everett  Hale  used  to  tell  of  a  man  whom 
he  met  on  a  railway  train,  who  made  a  remark 
leading  the  doctor  to  say,  "You  talk  like  a  Chau- 
tauquan — are  you  a  member  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.?" 
The  man  smiled  and  answered,  "Well,  I  don't 
know  whether  I  am  or  not.  My  wife  is :  she  read 
the  whole  course,  and  has  her  diploma  framed.  I 
read  only  one  book,  and  then  gave  up.  But  any 
institution  that  can  lead  a  man  to  read  Green's 
Short  History  of  the  English  People,  has  done 
considerable  for  that  man!" 

As  one  by  one  the  required  books  had  been  read 
by  diligent  members,  there  came  urgent  requests 
from  many  for  the  names  of  other  books,  on  history, 
on  sciences,  and  especially  on  the  Bible.  Dr.  Vincent 
and  his  staff  were  compelled  to  look  for  the  best 
books  on  special  courses,  supplementing  the  re- 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      153 

quired  course.  By  degrees  almost  a  hundred  of 
these  courses  were  arranged,  and  have  been  pur- 
sued by  multitudes.  The  one  who  read  the 
regular  course  through  four  years  was  to  receive  a 
diploma;  if  he  answered  the  questions  of  very 
simple  "Outline  Memoranda,"  his  diploma  was 
to  bear  one  seal.  If  he  took  the  stiffer  "Outline 
Memoranda"  described  above,  his  diploma  was 
to  receive  an  additional  seal  for  each  year's  work. 
Each  special  course  was  to  have  its  own  special 
seal.  Any  member  who  read  the  Bible  through 
while  pursuing  the  course,  would  have  a  gold  crown 
seal  upon  his  diploma.  There  were  some  elderly 
people  who  seemed  to  have  nothing  in  the  world 
to  do,  but  to  read  special  courses,  fill  out  the  memo- 
randa, send  for  seals,  and  then  demand  another 
course  on  Crete  or  Kamchatka,  or  the  Ten  Lost 
Tribes  of  Israel,  until  Miss  Kimball,  her  helpers, 
and  her  literary  friends  were  kept  on  the  jump  to 
find  books  on  these  various  subjects.  Hanging 
on  the  walls  of  C.  L.  S.  C.  classrooms  at  Chau- 
tauqua  are  diplomas  illuminated  with  a  hundred 
seals  or  more,  sent  to  the  class  headquarters  as 
memorials  of  diligent  readers  who  have  passed 
away. 

The  readers  of  these  seal-courses  become  mem- 
bers of  various  "orders "  of  different  rank.    Those 


154      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

whose  diplomas  show  four  seals  belong  to  the 
"Order  of  the  White  Seal,"  those  who  have  seven 
seals,  to  the  "League  of  the  Round  Table,"  and  if 
they  have  fourteen  seals  or  more,  the  "Guild  of 
the  Seven  Seals."  Each  of  these  societies  holds 
its  annual  reunion  at  Chautauqua,  wears  its  own 
badge,  and  marches  behind  its  own  banner  in 
the  procession. 

The  reference  to  seals  brings  us  to  another 
feature  of  Chautauqua,  and  especially  of  the  C.  L. 
S.  C.,  which  attracted  universal  attention  and  led 
many  thousands  into  the  charmed  circle, — those 
touches  of  poetry  and  sentiment,  which  no  one  but 
Dr.  Vincent  could  have  originated.  There  were 
the  three  mottoes  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  always  made 
prominent  in  its  prospectus  and  announcements, 
"We  Study  the  Word  and  the  Works  of  God"; 
"  Let  Us  Keep  Our  Heavenly  Father  in  the  Midst" ; 
and  "Never  be  Discouraged."  The  second  of 
these  sentences  was  spoken  by  the  venerable 
Hebraist,  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Vail,  as  with  tears  upon 
his  face  he  parted  with  Dr.  Vincent,  at  the  session 
of  1877,  a  year  before  the  announcement  of  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.  There  was  for  each  class  a  name. 
The  first  class  to  take  a  name  was  that  of  '84, 
established  in  1880.  They  were  continually  call- 
ing for  class-meetings  until  Dr.  Vincent  in  his 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      155 

announcements  spoke  of  them  as  "those  irrepres- 
sible eighty-fours!"  Whereupon  they  promptly 
adopted  as  their  name,  "The  Irrepressibles,"  and 
their  example  was  followed  by  the  other  classes. 
The  class  of  1882  took  the  name,  "The  Pioneers." 
Classes  are  known  as  "The  Vincent  Class,"  "The 
Lewis  Miller  Class" — others  are  named  after 
Shakespeare,  Tennyson,  Sidney  Lanier,  etc.  The 
class  graduating  in  1892  commemorated  the 
discovery  of  America  four  hundred  years  before, 
by  the  name  "Columbia."  Then,  too,  each  class 
has  its  own  flower,  which  its  members  seek  to 
wear  on  the  great  days  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.; 
but  only  the  Pioneer  class  of  1882  proudly 
bears  before  it  in  procession  a  hatchet,  and  its 
members  wear  little  hatchets  as  badges.  Dr. 
Hale  said  that  the  reason  why  the  Pioneers  carry 
hatchets  is  that  "they  axe  the  way!"  Each 
class  has  its  own  officers  and  trustees,  and 
though  all  its  members  are  never  assembled,  and 
can  never  meet  each  other,  they  maintain  a  strong 
bond  of  union  through  correspondence.  There 
is  the  great  silk  banner  of  the  Chautauqua  Circle 
leading  the  procession  on  Recognition  Day, 
followed  by  the  classes  from  1882  until  the  present, 
each  class  marching  behind  its  banner.  In  the 
early  days,  until  the  Chautauqua  grounds  became 


156     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

crowded,  there  was  an  annual  "Camp  Fire,"  all 
the  members  in  a  great  circle  standing  around  a 
great  bonfire  at  night  singing  songs  and  listening 
to  short  speeches.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the 
social  influences  which  make  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  more 
than  merely  a  list  of  readers.  It  is  a  brotherhood, 
a  family  bound  together  by  a  common  interest. 

The  opening  day  of  the  Chautauqua  readings  is 
October  first.  On  that  day  at  noon,  the  members 
of  the  circle  living  at  Chautauqua  and  others  in 
the  adjacent  towns  meet  at  the  Miller  bell  tower 
on  the  Point.  As  the  clock  sounds  out  the  hour 
of  twelve  all  present  grasp  a  long  rope  connected 
with  the  bells  and  together  pull  it,  over  and  over 
again,  sounding  forth  the  signal  that  the  Chau- 
tauqua year  has  begun.  It  is  said  that  every  true 
Chautauquan  the  world  over,  from  Mayville  to 
Hong-Kong,  can  hear  the  sound  of  that  bell  and 
at  the  summons  open  their  books  for  the  year's 
reading. 

In  one  of  the  earlier  years  we  received  at  the 
office  a  letter  from  the  wife  of  an  army  officer 
stationed  among  the  Indians,  and  far  from  any 
settlement.  She  wrote  that  she  was  a  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles  from  any  other  white 
woman,  and  felt  keenly  her  loneliness.  But  on 
the  day  when  her  bundle  of  C.  L.  S.  C.  books 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      157 

arrived,  she  clasped  it  to  her  bosom  and  wept  tears 
of  joy  over  it,  for  she  felt  that  she  was  no  longer 
alone,  but  one  in  a  great  company  who  were  read- 
ing the  same  books  and  thinking  the  same  thoughts 
and  enjoying  one  fellowship. 

In  one  of  the  early  classes  was  a  young  lady  who, 
soon  after  sending  in  her  name,  sailed  for  South 
Africa  to  become  a  teacher  in  a  girl's  boarding- 
school.  One  day  in  the  following  June,  when  it 
was  in  the  depth  of  winter  in  South  Africa, — for  in 
south  latitude  our  seasons  are  reversed ;  they  have 
a  saying  at  the  Cape  "as  hot  as  Christmas" — she 
came  to  her  classes  arrayed  in  her  very  best  apparel. 
The  girls  looked  at  her  in  surprise  and  asked 
"Is  this  your  birthday." 

"No,"  she  answered,  "but  it  is  the  Commence- 
ment Day  at  Chautauqua  in  America,  and  every- 
body dresses  up  on  that  day!" 

The  thousands  of  readers  in  the  Chautauqua 
fellowship  naturally  arranged  themselves  in  two 
classes.  About  half  of  them  were  reading  by 
themselves,  individuals,  each  by  himself  or  herself, 
— mostly  herself,  for  at  least  three-fourths  of  the 
members  were  women,  and  their  average  age  was 
about  thirty  years.  The  other  half  were  united 
in  groups,  "local  circles,"  as  they  were  called. 
Some  of  these  were  community  circles,  people  of 


T58      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

one  village  or  town,  irrespective  of  church  re- 
lations; other  circles  were  connected  with  the 
churches.  In  those  days  before  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society,  the  Epworth  League,  and 
other  nation-wide  organizations  had  appropriated 
the  interest  of  the  young  people,  the  Chautauqua 
Circle  was  the  literary  society  in  many  churches. 

I  recall  the  testimony  of  a  Methodist  minister 
of  those  days,  given  to  me  when  I  met  him  at  his 
conference  in  the  Middle  West. 

When  I  was  sent  to  my  last  church,  I  learned  that 
there  was  a  reading  circle  among  its  members,  and  I 
heard  the  news  with  some  dismay,  for  in  more  than  one 
place  I  had  started  a  literary  society  and  found  that  it 
was  necessary  for  me  to  supply  all  the  thought  and 
labor  to  keep  it  in  operation,  to  plan  the  course,  to 
select  people  to  write  papers  and  persuade  them  to  do 
it,  to  be  ready  to  fill  vacancies  on  the  program.  And 
as  soon  as  I  stopped  supplying  steam,  the  society  was 
sure  to  come  to  a  stand-still.  But  at  this  church 
I  found  a  Chautauqua  Circle  that  was  taking  care  of 
itself.  Its  programs  were  provided,  the  members 
were  reading  a  regular  course  and  making  their  reports ; 
they  presided  in  turn  at  the  meetings,  and  I  was  not 
called  upon  to  take  any  part  unless  I  desired  it.  Also 
in  the  prayer-meetings,  I  could  soon  recognize  the 
members  of  the  Circle  by  a  touch  of  intelligence  in 
their  testimonies. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  writer  that  if  one  could 
ascertain  the  history  of  the  woman's  clubs  that 


CHAUTAUQUA  ALL  THE  YEAR      159 

now  cover  the  country,  and  ascertain  their  origin, 
it  would  be  found  that  nearly  all  of  the  older 
woman's  clubs  arose  out  of  Chautauqua  Circles 
whose  members,  after  completing  the  prescribed 
course,  took  up  civics  or  politics,  or  literature. 
It  would  be  an  interesting  study  to  ascertain  how 
far  the  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  of 
America  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Chautauqua 
movement. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES 

THE  year  1879  marked  an  extension  in  more  than 
one  direction  of  Chautauqua 's  plans  and  program. 
The  season  was  lengthened  to  forty-three  days, 
more  than  double  the  length  of  the  earlier  sessions. 
On  July  1 7th  began  the  classes  in  The  Chautauqua 
Normal  School  of  Languages,  held  in  a  rough  board- 
walled,  white-washed  building,  which  had  formerly 
been  used  as  a  lodging-house,  but  was  no  longer 
needed  since  cottages  had  opened  their  doors  to 
guests.  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  formal 
opening  of  the  Chautauqua  Summer  Schools,  al- 
though already  classes  had  been  held,  some  of  them 
three  years,  others  four  years,  in  Greek,  Hebrew, 
and  kindergarten  instruction.  We  will  name  the 
faculty  of  this  year.  Greek  was  taught  by  a  na- 
tive of  Greece,  Dr.  T.  T.  Timayenis,  of  New  York; 
Latin  by  Miss  Emma  M.  Hall,  of  the  Detroit  High 
School,  afterward  a  missionary-teacher  in  Rome, 
Italy;  Prof.  J.  H.  Worman,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
taught  German,  never  speaking  one  word  of  Eng- 
lish in  his  classes,  although  a  fluent  speaker  and 

160 


Congregational  House 


Fenton  Memorial,  Deaconess'  House 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       161 

author  in  English.  Prof.  A.  Lalande  was  the 
teacher  of  the  French  language;  Dr.  Stephen  M. 
Vail  continued  his  classes  in  Hebrew,  and  Dr. 
James  Strong  in  Greek;  Prof.  Bernhard  Maimon 
of  Chicago,  taught  Oriental  languages;  and  Prof. 
A.  S.  Cook,  then  of  Johns  Hopkins,  but  soon  after- 
ward of  Yale,  conducted  a  class  in  the  study  of 
Anglo-Saxon  language  and  literature.  These 
studies  were  pursued  from  a  fortnight  before  the 
formal  opening  of  the  Assembly  until  its  close, 
making  courses  of  six  weeks,  carried  on  in  an  inten- 
sive manner.  Each  professor  pushed  his  depart- 
ment as  though  it  were  the  only  one  in  the  school, 
and  his  students  could  scarcely  find  time  to  rest 
themselves  by  rowing  on  the  lake  or  walking  in  the 
woods  with  their  classmates. 

Allied  to  the  School  of  Languages  was  the 
Teachers'  Retreat,  opening  at  the  same  time  but 
closing  just  before  the  Assembly  proper.  This  was 
outside  the  realm  of  Sunday  School  instruction, 
being  intended  for  secular  teachers  and  presenting 
the  principles  and  best  methods  of  education.  One 
of  its  leaders  was  Prof.  J.  W.  Dickinson,  Secretary 
of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education, 
an  enthusiast  as  well  as  a  master.  He  had  at  his 
command  a  fund  of  witticisms  and  stories,  always 
in  the  direct  line  of  his  teaching,  which  added 


i62      THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

not  a  little  to  the  interest  of  his  lectures.  I  was 
with  him  at  the  table  for  a  fortnight,  and  his  juicy 
talk  made  even  a  tough  steak  enjoyable.  Asso- 
ciated with  Dr.  Dickinson  were  Prof.  William  F. 
Phelps  of  Minnesota,  Dr.  Joseph  Alden  of  the 
State  Normal  School,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  Dr.  John 
Hancock,  President  of  the  National  Teachers' 
Association.  In  the  following  year,  1880,  the 
School  of  Languages  and  Teachers'  Retreat  were 
united,  and  the  Summer  School  program  was  again 
enlarged.  Year  by  year  new  departments  were 
added,  until  Chautauqua  became  a  summer  uni- 
versity, and  such  it  continues  to  this  day,  offering 
more  than  two  hundred  courses,  taught  by  nearly 
one  hundred  and  fifty  instructors.  Perhaps  the 
most  popular  courses  have  always  been  those  in 
physical  culture,  pursued  by  teachers  in  public 
and  private  schools,  enabled  by  Chautauqua  to 
make  their  work  in  their  home  schools  more  effi- 
cient and  extensive.  One  might  spend  weeks  at 
Chautauqua,  attending  the  lectures  and  concerts 
in  the  Amphitheater  and  the  Hall,  and  enjoying 
the  bathing  and  boating  opportunities  of  the  Lake, 
yet  never  realizing  that  on  College  Hill,  and  down 
at  the  Gymnasium,  are  nearly  five  thousand  young 
men  and  young  women  diligently  seeking  the 
higher  education. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       163 

A  third  sideline  during  this  season  of  1879  was 
the  Foreign  Mission  Institute,  held  by  missionary 
leaders  of  the  Congregational,  Methodist,  Presby- 
terian, and  Baptist  organizations,  and  addressed 
by  missionaries  at  home  from  many  lands.  Chau- 
tauqua  was  a  pioneer  in  bringing  together  repre- 
sentatives of  different  churches  for  conference  upon 
their  work  of  winning  the  world  to  Christ.  This 
series  of  missionary  councils  has  been  continued 
without  the  omission  of  a  year  through  all  the 
history  of  Chautauqua  since  1879. 

The  Sixth  Chautauqua  Assembly  opened  on  its 
regular  evening,  the  first  Tuesday  in  August,  1879. 
The  ravine  which  had  been  the  seat  of  the  Pavilion 
and  birthplace  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.'  had  been  trans- 
formed into  a  great  auditorium  of  permanent 
materials  and  fairly  comfortable  seats  for  five 
thousand  people.  It  was  a  great  advance  upon 
any  of  the  earlier  meeting  places,  and  made  it  no 
longer  necessary  to  carry  one's  umbrella  to  the 
lectures.  But  a  heavy  rain  on  the  extensive  roof 
would  make  even  the  largest-lunged  orator  in- 
audible, and  the  many  wooden  pillars  supporting 
the  roof  had  a  fashion  of  getting  themselves  be- 
tween the  speaker  and  the  hearers.  Notwith- 
standing these  minor  drawbacks,  it  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  best  audience-halls  in  the  land  for  large 


164      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

assemblies,  for  its  acoustic  properties  were  almost 
perfect.  No  speaker  eve'r  heard  his  words  flung 
back  to  him  by  an  echo,  and  the  orator  who  knew 
how  to  use  his  voice  could  be  heard  almost  equally 
well  in  every  corner  of  the  building.  When  Dr. 
Buckley  stood  for  the  first  time  upon  its  plat- 
form, and  looked  at  its  radiating  and  ascending 
seats,  he  said  to  Dr.  Vincent,  ''This  is  a  genuine 
amphitheater"  The  name  was  adopted,  and  the 
Amphitheater  became  the  meeting  place  for  all 
the  popular  lectures  and  the  great  Sunday  services. 
Many  were  the  distinguished  speakers,  men  and 
women,  who  stood  upon  its  platform,  and  as  many 
singers  whose  voices  enraptured  throngs.  At  a 
popular  concert  almost  as  many  seemed  to  be 
standing,  crowded  under  the  eaves,  as  were  seated 
beneath  the  roof. 

The  old  Amphitheater  stood  until  1897.  In 
that  year  the  building  of  the  Massey  Memorial 
Organ  made  some  changes  necessary.  The  old 
building  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  Amphi- 
theater arose  in  its  place,  having  above  it  a  trussed 
roof  and  supported  from  the  sides,  and  no  pillars 
obstructing  the  view.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
Chautauqua  Amphitheater  will  seat  ten  thousand 
people,  but  a  careful  computation  shows  that  fifty- 
five  hundred,  or  at  the  utmost  fifty-six  hundred 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       165 

are  its  limit  upon  the  benches,  without  chairs  in 
the  aisles.  But  another  thousand,  or  even  fifteen 
hundred  may  sometimes  be  seen  standing  back  of 
its  seats  at  a  popular  lecture  or  concert. 

In  the  season  of  1879,  one  of  the  leading  speakers 
was  an  Englishman,  the  Rev.  W.  O.  Simpson  of 
the  Wesleyan  Church,  who  had  been  for  some 
years  a  missionary  in  India.  His  graphic  pictures 
of  village  life  in  that  land  were  a  revelation,  for 
Kipling  and  his  followers  had  not  yet  thrown  the 
light  of  their  genius  upon  the  great  peninsula  and 
its  people.  Mr.  Simpson  was  over  six  feet  in 
height  and  large  in  every  way,  in  voice  as  well  as 
in  girth.  We  all  hoped  to  meet  him  yet  many 
years  at  Chautauqua,  for  he  seemed  to  be  abound- 
ing in  health.  But  a  few  months  later  we  learned 
of  his  sudden  death.  In  those  years  it  was  the 
Chautauqua  custom  to  hold  a  memorial  service  for 
men  prominent  in  the  class-room  or  on  the  plat- 
form, and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  speak  in  1880  upon 
the  Rev.  W.  O.  Simpson.  I  sent  to  England  for 
printed  matter  relating  to  his  life,  and  among  the 
appreciative  articles  found  one  story  which  is 
worthy  of  remembrance. 

When  Mr.  Simpson  was  a  student  of  theology 
at  the  Wesleyan  Theological  School,  he  chanced 
one  day  to  read  the  announcement  of  a  lecture 


166      THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

upon  the  Bible,  and  went  to  hear  it.  To  his  amaze- 
ment he  found  himself  at  an  infidel  meeting,  listen- 
ing to  a  virulent  attack  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
In  the  middle  of  his  lecture,  the  speaker  said: 

There  are  undoubtedly  good  things  in  the  Bible, 
but  anyone  who  is  familiar  with  the  ancient  writers  of 
Greece,  and  especially  those  of  India,  knows  well,  if 
he  would  tell  the  truth,  that  all  the  good  things  in  the 
Bible  were  stolen  from  earlier  scholars  and  sages,  and 
were  originally  better  spoken  or  written  than  by  the 
so-called  authors  of  the  Bible,  who  took  them  at 
second-hand.  If  anybody  here  is  prepared  to  deny 
that  statement,  let  him  stand  up  and  say  so! 

Instantly  this  young  student  of  theology  stood 
up,  six  feet  high,  and  at  that  time  in  his  life  very 
slim  in  his  figure.  That  he  might  be  seen  readily 
he  stood  on  the  seat,  and  a  fellow-student  said  that 
he  loomed  up  apparently  ten  feet  high.  He  held 
a  little  red-covered  book,  and  stretching  his  long 
arm  toward  the  speaker,  said  something  like  this: 

I  hold  in  my  hand  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  I  wish  to  say  that  in  this  little  book,  only  a  quarter 
of  the  Bible,  you  will  find  a  clearer  light  on  man's 
nature,  and  character,  and  destiny  than  may  be  read 
in  all  the  ancient  books  of  the  world  taken  together. 

He  paused,  seized  the  little  volume  with  both 
hands,  tore  it  in  two  parts,  flung  one  part  down  to 
the  floor,  and  still  holding  the  rest  of  it,  went  on: 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       167 

I  have  thrown  aside  one-half  of  this  book,  but  this 
half  contains  the  four  gospels  of  our  Lord,  which  will 
tell  more  what  man  may  be  here  and  will  be  hereafter 
than  can  be  found  in  all  the  books  of  ancient  Rome, 
or  Greece,  or  Chaldea,  or  India,  or  China. 

Then  he  tore  out  three  leaves  from  the  fragment, 
flung  all  the  rest  on  the  floor,  and  fluttering  the 
torn  pages,  said : 

These  six  pages  contain  Christ's  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  setting  forth  a  higher  standard  of  righteous- 
ness, a  clearer  view  of  God,  and  a  better  knowledge  of 
man's  nature  than  all  the  other  ancient  books  on  earth. 
That  is  my  answer  to  the  speaker ! 

And  leaving  the  torn  book  on  the  floor,  he 
walked  out  of  the  room. 

Other  speakers  in  the  new  Amphitheater  in  the 
summer  of  1879  were  Dr.  Henry  W.  Warren,  in  the 
next  year  a  Bishop ;  Frank  Beard,  with  his  carica- 
tures and  stories;  Dr.  C.  H.  Fowler,  Dr.  Joseph 
Cook,  Bishop  Foster,  Dr.  Alexander  A.  Hodge, 
the  Princeton  theologian,  Dr.  John  Lord,  the  his- 
torian, Hon.  J.  W.  Wendling  of  Kentucky,  who 
brought  brilliant  oratory  to  the  service  of  Chris- 
tianity in  an  eloquent  lecture  on  "The  Man  of 
Galilee";  Prof.  J.  W.  Churchill,  one  of  the  finest 
readers  of  his  time;  Dr.  George  Dana  Boardman 
of  Philadelphia;  and  Dr.  Vincent  himself,  always 


168      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

greeted  by  the  largest  audiences.  Let  us  say,  once 
for  all,  that  Dr.  Buckley  was  a  perennial  visitor, 
with  new  lectures  every  year,  and  his  ever-popular 
answers  to  the  question-drawer.  If  there  was  a 
problem  which  he  could  not  solve,  he  could  always 
turn  the  tables  on  the  questioner  with  a  story 
or  a  retort. 

One  event  of  1879  not  to  be  passed  over  was  the 
dedication  of  the  Hall  of  Philosophy  in  St.  Paul's 
Grove.  Dr.  Vincent  suggested  the  plan  of  the 
building,  to  be  set  apart  for  the  uses  of  the  C.  L. 
S.  C.  and  the  interests  of  general  culture.  As 
everybody  who  has  been  to  Chautauqua  knows,  it 
was  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  temple,  an  open  build- 
ing surrounded  by  plain  columns,  which  may  have 
resembled  marble,  but  were  made  of  wood.  The 
dedication  was  held  on  August  5th,  and  addresses 
were  given  by  Dr.  Vincent,  Rev.  W.  O.  Simpson, 
and  Dr.  Ellin  wood.  There  are  thousands  of 
Chautauquans,  some  of  them  dwelling  in  distant 
lands,  who  are  ready  to  declare  that  in  all  the  week, 
the  most  precious  hour  was  that  of  the  five  o'clock 
Vesper  Service  on  Sunday  afternoon,  when  the 
long  rays  of  the  setting  sun  fell  upon  the  assem- 
blage, as  they  sang  "Day  is  dying  in  the  West," 
and  they  united  in  that  prayer  of  Thomas  a 
Kempis,  beginning, ' '  In  all  things,  O  my  soul,  thou 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       169 

shalt  rest  in  the  Lord  always,  for  He  is  the  ever- 
lasting rest  of  the  saints." 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1891  this  writer  was  the 
traveling  companion  of  Bishop  Vincent  in  Europe. 
Every  Sunday  afternoon  at  five  o'clock,  whether 
on  the  Atlantic,  or  in  London,  Lucerne,  Florence, 
or  Naples,  we  brought  out  our  copies  of  the  vesper 
service  and  read  it  together,  feeling  that  in  spirit 
we  were  within  the  columns  of  that  Hall  in  the 
Grove. 

This  year,  1879,  the  second  year  of  the  C.  L.  S. 
C.,  brought  to  its  Founder  a  problem  which  threat- 
ened the  ruin  of  the  circle,  but  in  its  happy  solu- 
tion proved  to  be  a  powerful  element  in  its  success. 
This  was  to  be  the  Roman  Year  of  the  course,  and 
in  the  original  conception  the  Pioneer  Class  of  1882 
would  take  up  Roman  history,  while  the  new  class 
of  1883  would  begin  as  its  predecessor  had  begun, 
with  English  history.  If  this  plan  had  been  carried 
out,  as  announced  in  the  early  circulars  for  that 
year's  study,  then  in  every  church  and  community 
two  classes  must  be  organized  and  conducted 
with  different  readings.  Another  year  would  re- 
quire three  circles,  and  still  another  four  circles. 
Could  members  and  leaders  be  found  for  four 
separate  clubs  in  one  locality?  Would  not  the 
circle  break  up  into  fragments  from  the  weight 


170     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

of  the  machinery  needed  to  keep  the  wheel  in 
motion?  Just  then  came  the  suggestion — made 
by  President  Lewis  Miller,  as  Dr.  Vincent  told 
me  at  the  time — that  both  the  classes  should 
read  the  books  together,  making  the  same  course 
the  second  year  for  the  Pioneers,  and  the  first 
year's  reading  of  "the  Vincents,"  as  the  members 
of  '83  named  themselves.  In  a  college  there  is  a 
progression  of  studies,  for  one  science  must  follow 
another;  but  in  the  Chautauqua  Circle,  it  makes 
no  difference  whether  the  reader  begins  with  the 
history  of  Greece  or  of  Rome,  or  of  England,  or  of 
America.  New  members  can  enter  any  year  and 
read  with  those  already  reading.  The  Circle  is  a 
railroad  train  on  a  track  with  four  stations.  You 
can  board  the  train  in  England,  America,  or  Greece 
or  Rome,  and  when  you  have  gone  the  round  and 
reached  the  station  where  you  began,  you  have 
completed  the  course  and  receive  your  certificate 
ornamented  with  all  the  seals  that  you  have  won 
by  additional  reading  and  study.  The  present 
four-year  cycle  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  consists  of 
the  English,  American,  Classical,  and  Modern 
European  years. 

One  more  event  of  1879  must  not  be  forgotten. 
The  Park  of  Palestine  had  fallen  into  decrepitude. 
Some  of  its  mountains  had  sunk  down,  and  the 


Baptist  Headquarters  and  Mission  House 


Presbyterian  Headquarters  and  Mission  House 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LANGUAGES       171 

course  of  the  River  Jordan  had  become  clogged  up, 
so  there  was  danger  of  a  lake  at  a  spot  where  none 
was  on  the  map,  and  of  a  dry  bed  below,  long  after 
the  Israelites  had  finished  their  crossing.  More- 
over, some  mischievous  boys  had  mixed  up  its 
geography  by  moving  a  few  of  the  cities.  Bethel 
was  found  where  Kirjath-jearim  should  be;  Joppa 
had  been  swept  by  the  ice  in  the  breaking  up  of 
winter  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  Megiddo 
was  missing.  The  task  of  reconstructing  the  Park 
was  given  to  Dr.  W.  H.  Perrine  of  Michigan,  a 
scholar  and  an  artist,  who  had  traveled  in  the  Holy 
Land,  had  painted  a  panorama  of  it,  and  had  con- 
structed a  model  in  plaster.  He  rebuilt  the  Park 
from  more  permanent  materials,  and  succeeded  in 
making  it  more  accurate  in  some  details,  as  well  as 
more  presentable  in  appearance.  But  man-made 
mountains  are  by  no  means  "the  ever-lasting  hills," 
and  the  Park  of  Palestine  needs  to  be  made  over 
at  least  once  in  ten  years  if  it  is  to  be  kept  worthy 
of  Chautauqua. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HOTELS,   HEADQUARTERS,  AND  HAND-SHAKING 

(I880) 

THE  seventh  session  of  the  Assembly  opened  in 
1880  with  another  addition  to  the  Chautauqua 
territory.  Fifty  acres  along  the  Lake  shore  had 
been  acquired,  and  the  Assembly-ground  was  now 
three  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  old  Fair  Point 
Camp  Meeting. 

This  season  saw  also  the  foundation  laid  for  a 
large  hotel.  It  is  worthy  of  record  that  the  Hotel 
Athenaeum  was  built  not  by  the  Assembly  Board, 
but  by  a  stock  company  of  people  friendly  to  the 
movement  and  willing  to  risk  considerable  capital 
in  its  establishment.  More  than  one  promising 
Assembly  had  already  been  wrecked  and  many 
more  were  destined  to  bankruptcy  by  building 
large  hotels  before  they  were  assured  of  guests 
to  fill  them.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that 
everywhere  the  Chautauqua  constituency  was  not, 
and  is  not  now,  the  wealthy  class  who  frequent 
summer  hotels  and  are  willing  to  pay  high  prices  for 

172 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS      173 

their  entertainment.  A  Chautauqua  Assembly, 
whether  in  the  east  or  the  west,  is  mainly  composed 
of  people  possessing  only  moderate  means,  but 
eager  for  intellectual  culture.  Whenever  a  Chau- 
tauqua has  been  established  in  connection  with 
the  conventional  summer  hotel,  either  it  has  be- 
come bankrupt  from  lack  of  patronage,  or  the 
hotel  has  swallowed  up  the  Assembly.  The  Hotel 
Athenaeum  at  Chautauqua  was  not  the  property 
of  the  Assembly,  and  might  have  failed — as  many, 
perhaps  most,  of  the  summer  hotels  at  watering- 
places  have  failed  once  or  more  than  once  in  their 
history — without  endangering  the  Assembly  it- 
self. The  men  who  built  the  Athenaeum,  led  by 
Lewis  Miller  and  his  business  partners,  risked  their 
money,  and  might  have  lost  it,  for  there  were 
seasons  when  it  paid  no  dividends  to  the  stock- 
holders, and  other  seasons  when  the  profits  were 
small.  Yet  this  hotel  drew  by  degrees  an  increas- 
ing number  of  visitors  who  were  able  and  willing 
to  enjoy  its  advantages  over  those  of  the  earlier 
cottage  boarding  houses,  and  it  led  to  better  ac- 
commodations and  a  more  liberal  table  in  the  cot- 
tages, until  now  the  Hotel  Athenaeum  is  only  one 
of  a  number  of  really  good  houses  of  entertainment 
at  Chautauqua.  It  is  given  prominence  in  our 
story  because  it  was  first  in  its  field.  By  the  way, 


174      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  name  " Hotel  Athenaeum"  was  given  by  Dr. 
Vincent,  who  liked  to  impart  a  classical  tone  to 
buildings  in  an  educational  institution. 

The  building  was  begun  in  1880  and  opened  in 
the  following  year,  though  even  then  not  fully 
completed.  It  occupied  the  site  of  a  three-story 
edifice  bearing  the  high-sounding  name  "Palace 
Hotel,"  a  structure  of  tent-cloth  over  a  wooden 
frame,  divided  by  muslin  partitions,  and  three 
stories  in  height.  When  rooms  for  the  ever-in- 
creasing multitudes  at  Chautauqua  were  few,  the 
Palace  Hotel  was  a  blessing  to  many  visitors. 
Some  distinguished  men  slept  in  those  tented 
rooms,  and  inasmuch  as  a  sheet  partition  is  not 
entirely  sound-proof,  their  snores  at  night  could 
be  heard  almost  as  far  as  their  speeches  by  day. 
Some  there  were  in  the  early  eighties  who  shook 
their  heads  as  the  walls  of  the  new  hotel  rose,  and 
dreaded  the  tide  of  worldliness  which  would  follow; 
but  the  Hotel  Athenaeum  has  become  a  genuine 
helper  to  the  Chautauqua  spirit,  for  its  great  parlor 
has  opened  its  doors  to  many  receptions,  and  the 
witty  after-dinner  speeches  at  banquets  in  its 
dining-hall  would  fill  more  than  one  volume. 

Another  building  which  deserves  mention  is  the 
Congregational  House,  opened  in  1880;  the  first 
church  headquarters  established  at  Chautauqua. 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS      175 

We  have  seen  how  the  denominations  were  recog- 
nized from  the  earliest  years,  and  meeting  places 
provided  for  their  prayer  meetings  and  confer- 
ences. The  need  was  felt  by  a  number  of  the 
larger  churches  of  a  place  where  their  members 
could  find  a  welcome  on  arrival,  could  form  an 
acquaintance  with  fellow-members,  could  meet 
each  other  in  social  gatherings  and  prayer  meet- 
ings, and  could  promote  the  fraternal  spirit. 
The  example  of  the  Congregationalists  was  soon 
followed.  The  Presbyterian  headquarters,  aided 
by  a  liberal  donation  of  Mr.  Elliott  F.  Shepard  of 
New  York,  was  the  earliest  brick  building  on  the 
ground,  solid  and  substantial,  befitting  the  church 
which  it  represented.  After  a  few  years  its  size 
was  doubled  to  make  a  Mission  House,  where 
missionaries  of  that  church,  home  and  foreign, 
could  enjoy  a  vacation  at  Chautauqua.  The 
Methodist  House  is  one  of  the  largest,  for  its  chapel 
is  the  home  of  the  Community  Church  at  Chau- 
tauqua through  the  entire  year,  the  church 
home  of  the  resident  population  of  every  de- 
nomination. The  Disciples  of  Christ,  or  Chris- 
tian Church,  purchased  a  large  boarding-house, 
built  before  it  a  pillared  porch,  giving  it  a  noble 
frontage  and  furnishing  rooms  for  guests  in  the 
upper  stories.  The  United  Presbyterians  built  a 


176      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

chapel,  serving  also  as  a  social  room.  The  Protestant 
Episcopalians  also  erected  a  chapel  consecrated  to 
worship,  but  later  established  also  a  Church  Home. 
The  Unitarians  purchased  and  improved  a  property 
fronting  on  St.  Paul's  Grove.  The  Baptists  built 
a  large  headquarters  on  Clark  Avenue,  the  street 
extending  from  the  Amphitheater  to  the  Hall  of 
Philosophy,  and  the  Lutherans  obtained  a  large 
building  near  it.  In  all  these  Denominational 
Houses  there  is  an  absence  of  clannish  feeling.  No 
church  uses  its  headquarters  as  a  propaganda  of  its 
peculiar  views ;  and  in  the  receptions  fellow  Chris- 
tians of  every  branch  are  always  welcome.  When 
some  eminent  man  comes  to  Chautauqua,  his 
church  holds  a  reception  in  his  honor,  and  every- 
body who  would  like  to  take  his  hand  flocks  to  the 
meeting  at  his  church  headquarters.  Speaking  of 
receptions,  I  must  tell  of  one  wherein  I  was  sup- 
posed to  take  a  leading  part,  but  found  myself  left 
in  the  rear.  Dr.  Vincent  announced  that  at  four 
o'clock,  in  the  Hall  of  Philosophy,  a  reception 
would  be  given  to  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale.  He 
said  to  me : 

Now,  Dr.  Hurlbut,  I  place  this  reception  in  your 
hands  to  manage.  Dr.  Hale  comes  from  Boston  and 
is  accustomed  to  the  formalities  of  the  best  society. 
Be  sure  to  have  this  reception  held  in  the  proper  man- 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS     177 

ner.  Let  the  Doctor  stand  in  front  of  the  platform, 
have  ushers  ready  to  introduce  the  people,  and  let 
there  be  no  indiscriminate  handshaking. 

I  promised  to  see  that  everything  should  be  done 
decently  and  in  order,  and  a  few  minutes  before 
the  hour  appointed,  walked  over  to  the  Hall.  I 
was  amazed  to  see  a  crowd  of  people,  all  pressing 
toward  the  center,  where  the  tall  form  of  Dr.  Hale 
loomed  above  the  throng,  shaking  hands  ap- 
parently in  every  direction.  I  rushed  upon  the 
scene  and  vainly  endeavored  to  bring  about  some 
semblance  of  order.  The  reception  was  a  tumultu- 
ous, almost  a  rough-and-tumble,  affair,  everybody 
reaching  out  for  the  guest  in  his  own  way.  It  came 
about  in  this  manner,  as  I  learned. 

Everybody  at  Chautauqua  knows  that  the  bell 
invariably  rings  five  minutes  before  the  hour, 
giving  notice  that  the  exercises  may  begin 
promptly  on  the  stroke  of  the  clock.  But  Dr. 
Hale  did  not  know  this,  and  when  the  five-minute 
bell  rang,  he  rose  and  said : 

"The  time  for  the  meeting  has  come,  but  nobody 
seems  to  be  in  charge.  Let  us  begin  the  reception 
ourselves  without  waiting." 

He  stood  up,  and  began  shaking  hands  right  and 
left,  without  waiting  for  introduction,  and  when 
the  four  o'clock  bell  sounded,  the  reception  was  in 
ia 


178      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

full  sweep,  everybody  crowding  around  at  once  and 
grasping  his  hand.  Before  the  first  throng  had 
satisfied  its  desires,  another  stream  poured  in  and 
the  general  tumult  continued  until  the  five  o'clock 
hour  compelled  an  adjournment,  the  Hall  being 
required  for  another  meeting. 

At  the  close,  Dr.  Hale  remarked  to  me,  "I  es- 
pecially like  the  informality  of  such  gatherings 
here  at  Chautauqua.  This  has  been  one  of  the 
most  satisfactory  receptions  that  I  have  ever 
attended!" 

Chautauqua  was  already  coming  to  the  front  as 
a  convention-city.  Its  central  location  between 
New  York  and  Chicago,  with  ready  transportation 
north  and  south,  its  Amphitheater  for  great  meet- 
ings, with  numerous  halls  and  tents  for  smaller 
gatherings  and  committees,  the  constant  improve- 
ment in  its  lodging  and  commissary  departments, 
its  attractive  program  of  lectures  and  entertain- 
ments, and  not  the  least,  its  romantic  out-of- 
door  life,  began  to  draw  to  the  ground  different 
organizations.  The  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  led  by  Frances  E.  Willard,  returned 
to  its  birthplace  for  its  sixth  annual  convention, 
and  the  National  Educational  Association  brought 
members  from  every  State,  presided  over  by  Dr. 
J.  Ormond  Wilson.  This  Association  embraced 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS      179 

educators  of  widely  diverging  views,  and  some  en- 
tertaining scraps  occurred  in  its  discussions.  For 
example,  the  kindergarten  instruction  at  Chautau- 
qua  was  under  the  direction  of  Madame  Kraus- 
Boelte,  and  her  husband,  a  learned  but  rather 
obstinate  German,  Professor  Kraus.  There  was 
an  Americanized  kindergarten,  whose  representa- 
tive came,  hired  a  cottage,  and  hung  out  her  sign, 
but  much  to  her  displeasure  was  not  allowed  to 
conduct  classes.  It  would  never  answer  to  let 
anybody  hold  classes  unauthorized  by  the  man- 
agement, for  who  could  tell  what  educational 
heresies  might  enter  through  the  gate?  But  this 
aggressive  lady  paid  her  fee,  joined  the  N.  E.  A., 
and  in  the  kindergarten  section  proceeded  to  ex- 
ploit her  " improvements"  upon  the  FroebeJ  sys- 
tem. This  aroused  the  ire  of  Professor  Kraus, 
and  in  vigorous  language  he  interrupted  her 
address,  declaring,  at  first  in  English,  then  half  in 
German  as  his  anger  rose: 

"Dat  iss  not  kindergarten!  Dere  is  but  one 
kindergarten!  You  can  call  dat  whatever  you 
please,  but  not  kindergarten!  You  can  call  it 
joss-house,  if  you  choose,  but  you  must  not  say  dat 
mix-up  is  a  kindergarten!" 

The  audience  enjoyed  the  discussion  all  the  more 
because  of  this  scramble  between  opposing  schools. 


i8o      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

There  was  another,  and  more  dignified,  contro- 
versy on  the  Chautauqua  platform  in  1880.  On 
its  program  was  the  honored  name  of  Washing- 
ton Gladden,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  to  speak  upon 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  its  misdeeds.  A 
friend  of  Dr.  Vincent,  who  was  an  officer  of  the 
Standard  Oil,  said  that  it  would  only  be  fair  to  hear 
the  other  side,  and  proposed  Mr.  George  Gunton 
of  New  York  as  a  speaker.  So  it  came  to  pass 
that  two  able  men  spoke  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
mooted  question.  Each  gave  an  address  and  after- 
ward had  an  opportunity  of  answering  the  other's 
arguments.  So  far  as  I  know,  this  was  the  first 
debate  on  public  questions  at  Chautauqua,  and  it 
was  succeeded  by  many  others.  An  effort  is  made 
to  have  the  burning  questions  of  the  time  dis- 
cussed by  representative  speakers.  Some  exceed- 
ingly radical  utterances  on  capital  and  labor  have 
been  made  on  the  Chautauqua  platform,  but  it 
must  not  be  inferred,  because  the  audience  listened 
to  them  respectfully,  or  even  applauded  a  particu- 
larly sharp  sentence,  that  Chautauqua  was  in 
accord  with  the  speaker's  sentiments. 

On  the  list  of  speakers  at  this  season  may  be 
read  the  following,  a  few  among  many  names: 
Prof.  J.  H.  Gilmore  of  Rochester  University  gave  a 
series  of  brilliant  lectures  upon  English  literature. 


Methodist  Headquarters 


Disciples  (Christian  Church)  Headquarters 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS     181 

Ram  Chandra  Bose  of  India  gave  several  lectures, 
philosophic  and  popular.  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson  of 
Alaska  thrilled  a  great  audience  with  an  appeal  for 
that  outlying  but  unknown  land  of  ours.  Schuyler 
Colfax,  Vice-President  of  Grant's  first  adminis- 
tration, gave  a  great  lecture  on  "Abraham 
Lincoln."  Professor  Borden  P.  Bowne  of  Boston 
University  made  the  deep  things  of  philosophy 
plain  even  to  unphilosophic  listeners.  Other 
orators  in  the  new  Amphitheater  were  Dr.  Robert 
R.  Meredith  of  Boston,  Dr.  J.  O.  Means  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  and  Dr.  W.  W.  Keen  of  Philadelphia. 
The  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers  made  their  first  visit  this 
year;  and  with  the  Northwestern  Band  and  the 
Assembly  Chorus,  already  counted  by  the  hun- 
dreds, under  Professors  Sherwin  and  Case,  made 
music  one  of  the  most  popular  features  of  the 
program. 

This  year  was  also  notable  for  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  Chautauquan  Magazine,  containing  a 
part  of  the  required  readings  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 
It  was  launched  and  made  successful  by  the  finan- 
cial, business,  and  editorial  ability  of  Dr.  Flood, 
who  ventured  his  capital  boldly  and  won  deserved 
success.  The  ever- welcome  "Pansy,"  Mrs.  G.  R. 
Alden,  this  season  read  a  new  story,  published  soon 


1 82      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

afterward.  With  Mrs.  Alden  in  those  early  years 
was  a  serious  small  boy,  ever  at  his  mother's  side, 
rarely  entering  into  the  sports  of  childhood.  If  we 
could  have  looked  forward  a  quarter-century,  we 
might  have  seen  in  him  the  coming  Professor 
Raymond  M.  Alden  of  the  Leland  Stanford 
faculty,  one  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  and 
critics  in  the  Department  of  English  Literature, 
and  an  authority  quoted  in  all  lands  where  the 
English  language  is  spoken  or  read. 

A  visitor  came  to  Chautauqua  at  the  session  of 
1880,  whose  presence  brought  the  place  and  the 
Assembly  into  notice  throughout  the  nation. 
General  James  A.  Garfield  was  at  that  time  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  came  to  Chautauqua  on  Saturday, 
August  7th,  for  a  week-end  rest  in  a  strenuous 
campaign,  expressing  a  wish  not  to  be  called  upon 
for  any  public  address  or  reception.  He  wor- 
shiped with  the  great  congregation  on  Sunday 
morning,  his  entrance  with  a  group  of  his  friends 
being  received  in  respectful  silence.  In  the  after- 
noon he  mentioned  to  Dr.  Vincent  that  he  had 
heard  of  Palestine  Park  and  would  like  to  visit 
it.  As  the  lectures  in  the  Park  were  generally 
given  by  me,  I  was  detailed  to  walk  through  the 
model  and  point  out  its  localities.  As  we  went 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS     183 

out  of  Dr.  Vincent's  tent  a  small  company  was 
standing  around,  waiting  for  a  sight  of  the  candi- 
date. They  followed  us,  and  as  we  walked  on 
toward  the  Park,  people  came  flocking  forth  from 
every  house  and  tent.  By  the  time  we  reached 
the  Land  of  Palestine,  it  was  well-nigh  covered 
with  the  crowds,  extending  from  Dan  to  Beer- 
sheba.  No  former  Palestine  lecture  of  mine  had 
ever  drawn  together  such  a  multitude!  It  be- 
came impossible  to  find  the  cities  covered  by  the 
multitudes.  But  I  was  somewhat  surprised  to 
perceive  that  the  General  knew  where  at  least  the 
important  localities  belonged  even  though  they 
were  not  visible.  He  pointed  out  half  a  dozen  of 
the  cities  named  in  the  Bible,  and  gave  their  names 
without  hesitation  or  suggestion.  We  desired  to 
make  a  sort  of  pilgrimage  through  the  land,  but 
found  an  army  obstructing  our  journey. 

On  the  next  morning,  as  General  Garfield  was 
about  to  leave,  Dr.  Vincent  asked  him,  not  to  make 
a  political  speech,  but  to  give  in  a  few  words  his 
impressions  of  Chautauqua.  He  consented,  and 
standing  upon  a  stump,  in  the  presence  of  a  hastily 
assembled  gathering,  gave  a  ten-minute  address, 
of  which  the  following  is  a  part. 

You  are  struggling  with  one  of  the  two  great  prob- 
lems of  civilization.  The  first  one  is  a  very  old 


f 


184     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

struggle:  It  is,  how  shall  we  get  any  leisure?  That  is 
the  problem  of  every  hammer  stroke,  of  every  blow 
that  labor  has  struck  since  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
The  fight  for  bread  is  the  first  great  primal  fight,  and 
it  is  so  absorbing  a  struggle  that  until  one  conquers  it 
somewhat  he  can  have  no  leisure  whatever.  So  that 
we  may  divide  the  whole  struggle  of  the  human  race 
into  two  chapters;  first,  the  fight  to  get  leisure;  and 
then  the  second  fight  of  civilization — what  shall  we 
do  with  our  leisure  when  we  get  it?  And  I  take  it 
that  Chautuaqua  has  assailed  the  second  problem. 
Now,  leisure  is  a  dreadfully  bad  thing  unless  it  is  well 
used.  A  man  with  a  fortune  ready  made  and  with 
leisure  on  his  hands,  is  likely  to  get  sick  of  the  world, 
sick  of  himself,  tired  of  life,  and  become  a  useless, 
wasted  man.  What  shall  you  do  with  your  leisure? 
I  understand  Chautauqua  is  trying  to  answer  that 
question  and  to  open  out  fields  of  thought,  to  open  out 
energies,  a  largeness  of  mind,  a  culture  in  the  better 
senses,  with  the  varnish  scratched  off.  We  are  getting 
over  the  process  of  painting  our  native  woods  and 
varnishing  them.  We  are  getting  down  to  the  real 
grain,  and  finding  whatever  is  best  in  it  and  truest  in 
it.  And  if  Chautuaqua  is  helping  garnish  our  people 
with  the  native  stuff  that  is  in  them,  rather  than  with 
the  paint  and  varnish  and  gew-gaws  of  culture,  they 
are  doing  well. 


As  we  looked  upon  that  stately  figure,  the  form 
of  one  born  to  command,  and  listened  to  that  mel- 
low, ringing  voice,  no  one  dreamed  that  within  a 
year  that  frame  would  be  laid  low,  that  voice 


HOTELS  AND  HEADQUARTERS     185 

hushed,  and  that  life  fraught  with  such  promise 
ended  by  an  assassin's  bullet! 

The  Assembly  of  1880  came  to  its  close  on 
August  iQth,  after  a  session  of  thirty-eight  days. 
Although  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  had  come  to  the  fore- 
ground and  held  the  center  of  the  stage,  the  normal 
work  and  Bible  study  had  not  been  neglected. 
The  teacher-training  classes  were  now  under  the 
charge  of  Dr.  Richard  S.  Holmes  and  Rev.  J.  L. 
Hurlbut.  The  Children's  Class  was  maintained 
with  a  daily  attendance  approaching  three  hun- 
dred, the  lessons  taught  by  Rev.  B.  T.  Vincent  and 
pictures  drawn  by  Frank  Beard;  also  Mr.  Vincent 
conducted  an  Intermediate  Class  in  Bible  Study. 
In  all  these  classes  for  older  and  younger  stu- 
dents, more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  passed  the 
examination  and  were  enrolled  as  graduates. 

On  the  last  evening  of  the  Assembly,  after  the 
closing  exercises,  there  was  seen  a  weird,  ghostly 
procession,  in  white  raiment,  emerging  from  the 
Ark  and  parading  solemnly  through  the  grounds, 
pausing  before  the  Miller  Cottage  and  the  Vincent 
Tent  for  a  mournful,  melancholy  musical  strain. 
This  was  the  "ghost  walk"  of  the  guests  in  the 
Ark.  Some  eminent  Doctors  of  Divinity  and 
Ph.D.'s.  were  in  that  sheeted  procession,  led  by 
Professors  Sherwin  and  Case,  engineered,  as  such 


1 86     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

functions  were  apt  to  be,  by  Frank  and  Helen 
Beard.  The  ghost  walk  grew  into  an  annual 
march,  until  it  was  succeeded  by  a  more  elaborate 
performance,  of  which  the  story  will  be  told  later. 


CHAPTER  XII 

DEMOCRACY  AND  ARISTOCRACY  AT    CHAUTAUQUA 

(1881) 

THE  eighth  session  opened  on  Thursday,  July 
7th,  and  continued  forty-seven  days  to  August 
22d.  A  glance  over  the  program  shows  that  among 
the  lecturers  of  that  year  was  Signor  Alessandro 
Gavazzi,  the  founder  of  the  Free  Italian  Church, 
whose  lectures,  spiced  with  his  quaint  accent,  and 
emphasized  by  expressive  shoulders,  head,  glance 
of  eye,  held  the  interest  of  his  auditors  from  the 
opening  sentence  to  the  end.  No  verbal  report, 
however  accurate,  can  portray  the  charm  of 
this  wonderful  Italian.  Professor  W.  D.  McClin- 
tock  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  gave  a 
course  on  literature,  analytic,  critical,  and  sug- 
gestive. Dr.  William  Hayes  Ward,  Dr.  Daniel 
A.  Goodsell,  afterward  a  Methodist  Bishop,  Pro- 
fessor Charles  F.  Richardson,  Dr.  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  Dr.  A.  E.  Dunning,  Editor  of  The  Congrega- 
tionalist;  General  O.  O.  Howard,  who  told  war 
stories  in  a  simple,  charming  manner;  Dr.  Philip 

187 


188     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Schaff,  one  of  the  most  learned  yet  most  simple- 
hearted  scholars  of  the  age;  Dr.  A.  A.  Willetts,  with 
his  many  times  repeated,  yet  always  welcome  lec- 
ture on  "Sunshine,"  were  among  the  men  whose 
voices  filled  the  Amphitheater  during  the  season. 
The  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers  were  with  us  again  and 
Signer  Giuseppe  Vitale  made  the  birds  sing 
through  his  wonderful  violin. 

The  success  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  which  was  widen- 
ing its  area  every  month,  inspired  Dr.  Vincent  to 
look  for  new  fields  to  conquer.  He  established 
this  year  the  C.  Y.  F.  R.  U.,  initials  standing  for 
The  Chautauqua  Young  Folks  Reading  Union, 
which  proposed  to  do  for  the  boys  and  girls  what 
the  Reading  Circle  was  accomplishing  for  men  and 
women.  But  it  was  found  after  a  few  years  of 
trial  that  the  school-age  seeks  its  own  reading  and 
is  not  responsive  to  direction  in  literature  on  a 
vast  scale,  for  the  C.  Y.  F.  R.  U.  was  not  successful 
in  winning  the  young  readers. 

Another  scheme  launched  this  year  met  with  the 
same  fate; — The  Chautauqua  School  of  Theology. 
It  was  thought  that  many  ministers  who  had  not 
received  a  theological  education  would  avail  them- 
selves of  an  opportunity  to  obtain  it  while  in  the 
pastorate.  This  was  to  be  not  a  course  of  reading, 
but  of  close  study,  under  qualified  instruction  in 


DEMOCRACY  AND  ARISTOCRACY  189 

each  department,  with  examinations,  a  diploma, 
and  a  degree.  But  it  required  more  thorough 
study  and  much  larger  fees  than  a  mere  course  of 
reading,  and  those  who  needed  it  most  were  often 
the  poorest  paid  in  their  profession.  It  did  not 
receive  the  support  needful  for  its  success,  it  had 
no  endowment,  and  after  an  experiment  extending 
through  a  number  of  years,  it  was  reluctantly 
abandoned.  Some  of  us  have  believed  that  if  the 
Chautauqua  Correspondence  School  of  Theology 
could  have  found  friends  to  give  it  even  a  moderate 
endowment,  it  might  have  supplied  an  education 
needed  by  a  multitude  of  ministers. 

The  Hotel  Athenaeum  was  opened  in  1881  and 
speedily  filled  with  guests.  It  aided  in  bringing 
to  Chautauqua  a  new  constituency  and  also 
spurred  the  cottage  boarding-houses  to  improve 
their  accommodations  and  their  fare.  From  the 
beginning  the  waiters  and  other  helpers  at  the 
Hotel,  and  also  in  the  cottages,  have  been  mostly 
young  people  seeking  to  obtain  higher  education, 
and  paying  their  way  at  Chautauqua  by  service. 
I  remember  one  morning  finding  a  Hebrew  book 
on  my  breakfast  table.  One  meets  unaccustomed 
things  at  Chautauqua,  but  I  was  quite  sure  the 
menu  was  not  in  that  language.  I  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  young  man  who  brought  in  the  break- 


190      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

fast  to  the  book.  He  told  me  that  he  was  study- 
ing Hebrew  with  Dr.  Harper,  and  from  time  to 
time  we  had  some  conversation  concerning  his 
college  work.  Twenty  years  afterward  I  met  a 
prominent  Methodist  minister  at  a  Conference, 
who  said  to  me,  "  Don't  you  remember  me,  Dr. 
Hurlbut?  I  used  to  wait  on  your  table  at  Chau- 
tauqua  and  we  talked  together  about  Hebrew." 
That  minister  was  a  member  of  several  General 
Conferences  and  some  years  ago  was  made  one  of 
the  Bishops  in  his  church. 

Mrs.  Ida  B.  Cole,  the  Executive  Secretary  of 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  is  responsible  for  the  following:  A 
woman  once  said,  ' '  Chautauqua  cured  me  of  being 
a  snob,  for  I  found  that  my  waitress  was  a  senior  in 
a  college,  the  chambermaid  had  specialized  in 
Greek,  the  porter  taught  languages  in  a  high 
school,  and  the  bell-boy,  to  whom  I  had  been 
giving  nickel  tips,  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  fam- 
ily in  my  own  State  who  wanted  a  job  to  prove  his 
prowess." 

There  are  a  few,  however,  who  do  not  take 
kindly  to  the  democratic  life  of  Chautauqua.  I 
was  seated  at  one  of  the  hotel  tables  with  a  well- 
known  clergyman  from  England,  whose  sermons 
of  a  highly  spiritual  type  are  widely  read  in 
America;  and  I  remarked: 


lit 


• 


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Episcopal  Chapel 


DEMOCRACY  AND  ARISTOCRACY  191 

"Perhaps  it  may  interest  you  to  know  that  all 
the  waiters  in  this  hotel  are  college-students." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  said,  "surely  no  col- 
lege student  would  demean  himself  by  such  a 
servile  occupation!  But  it  may  be  a  lark,  just 
for  fun." 

"No,"  I  answered,  "they  are  men  who  are 
earning  money  to  enable  them  to  go  on  with  their 
college  work,  a  common  occurrence  in  summer 
hotels  in  America." 

Said  this  minister,  "Well,  I  don't  like  it;  and  it 
would  not  be  allowed  in  my  country.  No  man 
after  it  could  hold  up  his  head  in  an  English  Uni- 
versity or  College.  I  don't  enjoy  being  waited 
on  by  a  man  who  considers  himself  my  social 
equal!" 

Other  eminent  Englishmen  did  not  agree  with 
this  clergyman.  When  I  mentioned  this  incident 
a  year  later  to  Principal  Fair  bairn  of  Oxford,  he 
expressed  his  hearty  sympathy  with  the  democracy 
shown  at  Chautauqua,  and  said  that  whatever 
might  be  the  ideas  of  class-distinction  in  English 
colleges,  they  were  unknown  in  Scotland,  where 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  rose  from 
the  humblest  homes  and  regardless  of  their  poverty 
were  respected  and  honored  in  their  colleges. 

Dr.  Vincent,  ever  fertile  in  sentimental  touches, 


192      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

added  two  features  to  the  usages  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 
One  was  the  "Camp  fire."  In  an  open  place  a 
great  bonfire  was  prepared ;  all  the  members  stood 
around  in  a  circle,  clasping  hands;  the  fire  was 
kindled,  and  while  the  flames  soared  up  and  lit  the 
faces  of  the  crowd,  songs  were  sung  and  speeches 
were  made.  This  service  was  maintained  annually 
until  the  ground  at  Chautauqua  became  too  closely 
occupied  by  cottages  for  a  bonfire  to  be  safe.  It 
is  noteworthy  that  on  the  day  after  the  camp  fire, 
there  was  always  a  large  enrollment  of  members 
for  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  Of  course,  the  camp  fire 
was  introduced  at  other  Assemblies,  by  this  time 
becoming  numerous,  and  it  attracted  not  only 
spectators,  but  students  to  the  reading-course. 
At  our  first  camp  fire  in  the  Ottawa  Assembly, 
Kansas,  an  old  farmer  from  the  country  rushed 
up  to  Dr.  Milner,  the  President,  and  said : 

"I  don't  know  much  about  this  ere  circle  you 
were  talking  about,  but  I'm  going  to  jine,  and 
here's  my  fifty  cents  for  membership  and  another 
for  my  wife." 

There  were  only  twenty  members  around  the 
fire  that  night,  but  on  the  next  day,  there  were 
forty  or  more  on  the  registry  at  the  Chautauqua 
tent. 

The  camp  fire  died  down  after  a  number  of 


DEMOCRACY  AND  ARISTOCRACY  193 

years,  but  the  Vigil,  also  introduced  in  1881,  be- 
came a  permanent  institution.  In  the  days  of 
chivalry,  when  a  youth  was  to  receive  the  honor  of 
knighthood,  he  spent  his  last  night  in  the  chapel 
of  the  castle,  watching  beside  his  armor,  to  be  worn 
for  the  first  time  on  the  following  day.  Dr. 
Vincent  called  upon  the  members  of  the  Pioneer 
class  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  destined  to  graduate  on  the 
following  year,  to  meet  him  in  the  Hall  of  Philos- 
ophy late  on  Sunday  night,  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  evening  service.  All  except  members  of 
the  class  were  requested  not  to  come.  The  hall 
was  dimly  lighted,  left  almost  in  darkness.  They 
sang  a  few  songs  from  memory,  listened  to  a  Psalm, 
and  to  an  earnest,  deeply  religious  address,  were 
led  in  prayer,  and  were  dismissed,  to  go  home  in 
silence  through  the  empty  avenues.  After  a  few 
years  the  Vigil  was  changed  from  a  Sunday  even- 
ing of  the  year  before  graduation  to  the  Sunday 
immediately  preceding  Recognition  Day,  for  the 
reason  that  on  the  graduation  year,  the  attendance 
of  any  class  is  far  greater  than  on  the  year  before. 
The  Vigil  is  still  one  of  the  time-honored  and  highly 
appreciated  services  of  the  season.  Now,  how- 
ever, the  Hall  is  no  longer  left  in  shadow,  for 
around  it  the  Athenian  Watch  Fires  lighten  up 
St.  Paul's  Grove  with  their  flaring  tongues.  Gener- 
13 


194      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ally  more  people  are  standing  outside  the  pillars 
of  the  Hall,  watching  the  ceremonials,  than  are 
seated  before  the  platform,  for  none  are  permitted 
to  enter  except  members  of  the  class  about  to 
graduate. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  it  was  in  this  year,  1881, 
or  the  following  that  Dr.  Vincent  inaugurated 
the  Society  of  Christian  Ethics.  This  was  not  an 
organization  with  a  roll  of  membership,  dues,  and 
duties,  but  simply  a  meeting  on  Sunday  afternoon 
in  the  Children's  Temple,  at  which  an  address  on 
character  was  given,  in  the  first  years  by  Dr. 
Vincent.  It  was  especially  for  young  people  of 
the  'teen  age.  No  one  was  admitted  under  the 
age  of  twelve  or  over  that  of  twenty.  The  young 
people  were  quite  proud  of  having  Dr.  Vincent  all 
to  themselves,  and  strongly  resented  the  efforts 
of  their  elders  to  obtain  admittance.  No  person 
of  adult  years  was  allowed  without  a  card  signed 
by  Dr.  Vincent.  These  addresses  by  the  Founder, 
if  they  had  been  taken  down  and  preserved,  would 
have  formed  a  valuable  book  for  young  people  on 
the  building  up  of  true  character.  They  were 
continued  during  the  years  of  Dr.  Vincent's  active 
association  with  Chautauqua  and  for  some  time 
afterward ;  addresses  being  given  by  eminent  men 
of  the  Chautauqua  program.  But  very  few 


DEMOCRACY  AND  ARISTOCRACY  195 

speakers  could  meet  the  needs  of  that  adolescent 
age.  By  degrees  the  attendance  decreased  and 
after  some  years  the  meeting  gave  place  to  other 
interests. 

The  regular  features  of  the  season  went  on  as  in 
other  years.  The  schools  were  growing  in  stu- 
dents, in  the  number  of  instructors,  and  in  the 
breadth  of  their  courses.  The  Sunday  School 
Normal  Department  was  still  prominent,  and  on 
August  17,  1 88 1,  one  hundred  and  ninety  diplomas 
were  conferred  upon  the  adults,  intermediates,  and 
children  who  had  passed  the  examination. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY 
(1882) 

THE  opening  service  of  the  ninth  session  was 
begun,  as  all  the  opening  sessions  of  previous  years, 
in  the  out-of-doors  Auditorium  in  front  of  the 
Miller  Cottage.  But  a  sudden  dash  of  rain  came 
down  and  a  hasty  adjournment  was  made  to  the 
new  Amphitheater.  From  1882  onward,  "Old 
First  Night ' '  has  been  observed  in  that  building.  A 
few  lectures  during  the  season  of  '82  were  given  in 
the  old  Auditorium,  but  at  the  close  of  the  season 
the  seats  were  removed,  save  a  few  left  here  and 
there  under  the  trees  for  social  enjoyment;  and 
the  Auditorium  was  henceforth  known  as  Miller 
Park. 

The  crowning  event  of  the  1882  season  was  the 
graduation  of  the  first  class  in  the  Chautauqua 
Literary  and  Scientific  Circle.  Taking  into  ac- 
count the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  class,  for  which 
no  advertising  had  been  given  and  no  announce- 
ment made  in  advance,  the  number  graduated  at 
the  end  of  the  four  years  was  remarkably  large, 

196 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    197 

over  eighteen  hundred,  of  which  eight  hundred 
received  their  diplomas  at  Chautauqua  and  a 
thousand  more  at  their  homes,  some  in  distant 
places.  Years  afterward  I  met  a  minister  in  a 
small  town  in  Texas  who  had  seen  the  report  of 
the  inauguration  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  had  read  Dr. 
Vincent's  address  on  that  occasion,  and  joined 
the  Class  of  1882,  its  only  member,  as  far  as  he 
knew,  in  his  State.  One  member  was  a  teacher  in 
South  Africa,  others  were  missionaries  in  India 
and  China.  Most  of  the  regular  visitors  to  Chau- 
tauqua in  those  early  days  were  members  of  this 
class,  so  that  even  now,  after  nearly  forty  years,  the 
Pioneer  Class  can  always  muster  at  its  annual 
gatherings  a  larger  number  of  its  members  than 
almost  any  other  of  the  classes.  For  many  years 
Mrs.  B.  T.  Vincent  was  the  President  of  the  Class, 
and  strongly  interested  in  its  social  and  religious 
life.  She  instituted  at  Chautauqua  the  "Quiet 
Hour,"  held  every  Saturday  evening  during  the 
Assembly  season,  at  Pioneer  Hall,  by  this  class, 
a  meeting  for  conversation  on  subjects  of  culture 
and  the  Christian  life.  It  is  a  touching  sight  to 
look  upon  that  group  of  old  men  and  women,  at 
their  annual  farewell  meeting,  on  the  evening  be- 
fore the  Recognition  Day,  standing  in  a  circle  with 
joined  hands,  singing  together  their  class  song 


198      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

written  for  them  by  Mary  A.  Lathbury,  and  then 
sounding  forth  their  class  yell : 

Hear !    Hear !     Pioneers ! 

Height  to  height,  fight  for  right, 

Pioneers ! 

Who  are  you?     Who  are  you? 
We  are  the  class  of  eighty-two! 
Pioneers — Ah ! 

No  college  class  was  ever  graduated  with  half 
the  state  and  splendor  of  ceremony  that  was  ob- 
served on  that  first  Recognition  Day,  in  a  ritual 
prepared  by  Dr.  Vincent,  and  observed  to  the 
letter  every  year  since  1882.  He  chose  to  call  it 
not  a  Commencement,  but  a  Recognition,  the 
members  of  the  Circle  being  recognized  on  that 
day  as  having  completed  the  course  and  entitled 
to  membership  in  the  Society  of  the  Hall  in  the 
Grove,  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 

A  procession  was  formed,  its  divisions  meeting 
in  different  places.  The  graduating  class  met 
before  the  Golden  Gate  at  St.  Paul's  Grove,  a  gate 
which  is  opened  but  once  in  the  year  and  through 
which  none  may  pass  except  those  who  have  com- 
pleted the  course  of  reading  and  study  of  the  C.  L. 
S.  C.  Over  the  gate  hung  a  silk  flag  which  had 
been  carried  by  the  Rev.  Albert  D.  Vail  of  New 
York  to  many  of  the  famous  places  in  the  world  of 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    199 

literature,  art,  and  religion.  It  had  been  waved 
from  the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  of  Mount 
Sinai  in  the  Desert,  and  Mount  Tabor  in  the  Holy 
Land.  It  had  been  laid  in  the  Manger  at  Bethle- 
hem, and  in  the  traditional  tomb  of  Jesus  in  Holy 
Sepulcher  Church.  It  had  fluttered  upon  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  upon  Mount  Lebanon,  in  the  house 
where  Paul  was  converted  at  Damascus,  and  under 
the  dome  of  St.  Sophia  in  Constantinople.  It  had 
been  at  the  Acropolis  and  Mars'  Hill  in  Athens,  to 
Westminster  Abbey,  and  to  Shakespeare's  tomb 
at  Stratford,  to  the  graves  of  Walter  Scott  and 
Robert  Burns.  Upon  its  stripes  were  inscribed 
the  names  of  forty-eight  places  to  which  that  flag 
had  been  carried.  The  class  stood  before  the 
Golden  Gate,  still  kept  closed  until  the  moment 
should  come  for  it  to  be  opened,  and  in  two  sections 
the  members  read  a  responsive  service  from  the 
Bible,  having  wisdom  and  especially  the  highest 
wisdom  of  all,  the  knowledge  of  God,  as  its  subject. 
At  the  same  time  one  section  of  the  parade  was 
meeting  in  Miller  Park,  in  front  of  the  Lewis  Miller 
Cottage.  Another  was  at  the  tent  where  lived 
Dr.  Vincent,  and  still  another  division,  the  most 
interesting  of  all,  on  the  hill,  in  front  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Temple.  This  was  an  array  of  fifty  little 
girls  in  white  dresses,  with  wreaths  in  their  hair 


m 

200     ''THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

and  baskets  of  flowers  in  their  hands.  At  the 
signal,  the  procession  moved  from  its  different 
stations,  and  marched  past  the  Vincent  Tent,  led 
by 'the  band  and  the  flower  girls,  and  including 
every  department  of  Chautauqua,  officials,  trus- 
tees, schools,  and  Sunday  School  Normal  Class. 
In  the  later  years  each  class  of  graduates  marched, 
led  by  its  banner,  the  Class  of  1882,  the  Pioneers, 
bearing  in  front  their  symbol,  the  hatchet.  Before 
all  was  the  great  banner  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  presented 
to  the  Circle  by  Miss  Jennie  Miller,  Lewis  Miller's 
eldest. daughter,  bearing  upon  one  side  a  painting 
of  the  Hall  of  Philosophy  and  the  three  mottoes  of 
the  Circle;  on  the  other  a  silk  handkerchief  which 
had  accompanied  the  flag  on  its  journey  to  the 
sacred  places.  The  pole  holding  up  the  banner  was 
surmounted  by  a  fragment  of  Plymouth  Rock. 

The  march  was  to  the  Hall  of  Philosophy,  where 
the  orator,  officers,  and  guests  occupied  the  plat- 
form, the  little  flower  girls  were  grouped  on  op- 
posite sides  of  the  path  from  the  Golden  Gate  up 
to  the  Hall;  the  graduating  class  still  standing 
outside  the  entrance  protected  by  the  Guard  of 
the  Gate.  A  messenger  came  from  the  Gate  to 
announce  that  the  class  was  now  prepared  to  enter, 
having  fulfilled  all  of  the  conditions,  and  the  order 
was  given,  "Let  the  Golden  Gate  now  be  opened." 


Lutheran  Headquarters 


United  Presbyterian  Chapel 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    201 

The  portals  were  swung  apart,  and  the  class  en- 
tered, passing  under  the  historic  flag  and  succes- 
sively under  four  arches  dedicated  respectively  to 
Faith,  Science,  Literature,  and  Art,  while  the  lit- 
tle girls  strewed  flowers  in  their  path.  As  they 
marched  up  the  hill  they  were  greeted  by  Miss 
Lathbury's  song : 

THE  SONG  OF  TO-DAY 

Sing  paeans  over  the  Past ! 

We  bury  the  dead  years  tenderly, 

To  find  them  again  in  eternity, 
Safe  in  its  circle  vast. 
Sing  paeans  over  the  Past ! 

Farewell,  farewell  to  the  Old! 
Beneath  the  arches,  and  one  by  one, 
From  sun  to  shade,  and  from  shade  to  sun, 

We  pass,  and  the  years  are  told. 

Farewell,  farewell  to  the  Old! 

Arise  and  possess  the  land! 

Not  one  shall  fail  in  the  march  of  life, 
Not  one  shall  fail  in  the  hour  of  strife, 

Who  trusts  in  the  Lord's  right  hand. 

Arise  and  possess  the  land! 

And  hail,  all  hail  to  the  New ! 
The  future  lies  like  a  world  new-born, 
All  steeped  in  sunshine  and  dews  of  morn, 

And  arched  with  a  cloudless  blue 

All  hail,  all  hail  to  the  New! 


202      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

All  things,  all  things  are  yours ! 

The  spoil  of  nations,  the  arts  sublime 
That  arch  the  ages  from  oldest  time, 

The  word  that  for  aye  endures — 

All  things,  all  things  are  yours ! 

The  Lord  shall  sever  the  sea, 

And  open  a  way  in  the  wilderness 
To  faith  that  follows,  to  feet  that  pass 

Forth  into  the  great  TO  BE 

The  Lord  shall  sever  the  sea ! 

The  inspiring  music  of  this  inspiring  hymn  was 
composed,  like  most  of  the  best  Chautauqua  songs, 
by  Prof.  William  F.  Sherwin.  The  class  entered, 
and  while  taking  their  seats  were  welcomed  in  the 
strains  of  another  melody : 

A  song  is  thrilling  through  the  trees, 

And  vibrant  through  the  air, 
Ten  thousand  hearts  turn  hitherward, 

And  greet  us  from  afar. 
And  through  the  happy  tide  of  song 

That  blends  our  hearts  in  one, 
The  voices  of  the  absent  flow 

In  tender  undertone. 

CHORUS 

Then  bear  along,  O  wings  of  song, 

Our  happy  greeting  glee, 
From  center  to  the  golden  verge, 

Chautauqua  to  the  sea. 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    203 

Fair  Wisdom  builds  her  temple  here, 

Her  seven-pillared  dome; 
Toward  all  lands  she  spreads  her  hands, 

And  greets  her  children  home; 
Not  all  may  gather  at  her  shrine 

To  sing  of  victories  won; 
Their  names  are  graven  on  her  walls — 

God  bless  them  every  one!     Chorus. 

O  happy  circle,  ever  wide 

And  wider  be  thy  sweep, 
Till  peace  and  knowledge  fill  the  earth 

As  waters  fill  the  deep ; 
Till  hearts  and  homes  are  touched  to  life, 

And  happier  heights  are  won; 
Till  that  fair  day,  clasp  hands,  and  say 

God  bless  us,  every  one!     Chorus. 

Another  responsive  service  followed,  read  in 
turn  by  the  Superintendent  and  the  class,  and  then 
Dr.  Vincent  gave  the  formal  Recognition  in  words 
used  at  every  similar  service  since  that  day : 

Fellow-Students  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scien- 
tific Circle. 

DEARLY  BELOVED: 

You  have  finished  the  appointed  and  accepted  course 
of  reading;  you  have  been  admitted  to  this  sacred 
Grove;  you  have  passed  the  arches  dedicated  to  Faith, 
Science,  Literature,  and  Art ;  you  have  entered  in  due 
form  this  Hall,  the  center  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary 
and  Scientific  Circle.  And  now  as  Superintendent  of 


204      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Instruction, J  with  these  my  associates,  the  counsellors 
of  our  Fraternity,  I  greet  you;  and  hereby  announce 
that  you,  and  your  brethren  and  sisters  absent  from 
us  to-day,  who  have  completed  with  you  the  pre- 
scribed course  of  reading,  are  accepted  and  approved 
graduates  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific 
Circle,  and  that  you  are  entitled  to  membership  in  the 
Society  of  the  Hall  in  the  Grove.  "The  Lord  bless 
thee  and  keep  thee;  the  Lord  make  his  face  shine  upon 
thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee;  the  Lord  lift  up  his 
countenance  upon  thee  and  give  thee  peace." 

After  another  song,  the  Marshal  of  the  proces- 
sion took  charge,  and  the  order  of  march  was  re- 
newed, the  newly  graduated  class  in  the  rear, 
followed  by  the  Superintendent,  Counsellors,  and 
officers.  The  company  marched  to  the  Amphi- 
theater, on  the  way  the  procession  dividing  and 
forming  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  while  the 
officers  and  the  graduating  class  passed  through 
the  open  files,  thus  bringing  the  graduating  class 
at  the  head  of  the  line  into  the  Amphitheater. 
Here  more  songs  were  sung  and  other  responsive 
readings  were  rendered  before  an  audience  that 
thronged  the  building.  The  oration  on  the  first 
graduation  service  was  given  by  Dr.  Henry  W. 

1  After  Dr.  Vincent's  title  was  changed- to  "Chancellor  of  the 
Chautauqua  University"  that  form  was  used;  and  in  his  absence 
the  President  said  instead  "as  representing  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Chautauqua  University." 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    205 

Warren,  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  episcopate 
two  years  before.  After  the  oration  a  recess  was 
taken,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  concluding  service 
was  held  and  the  diplomas  were  conferred  upon 
the  eight  hundred  graduates  present  by  the  hand 
of  Dr.  Vincent. 

In  most  college  commencements  that  I  have  at- 
tended, the  President  takes  the  diplomas  at  ran- 
dom from  a  table  and  hands  them  to  the  class  as 
they  come,  not  giving  to  each  graduate  his  own 
diploma,  and  afterward  there  is  a  general  looking 
up  one  another  and  sorting  out  the  diplomas  until 
at  last  each  one  obtains  his  own.  But  Miss 
Kimball,  the  Secretary,  devised  a  plan  by  which 
all  the  diplomas  were  numbered  and  each  gradu- 
ate was  furnished  with  a  card  showing  his  number. 
These  numbers  were  called  out  ten  at  a  time,  and 
each  graduate  was  able  to  receive  his  own  (mostly 
her  own)  diploma,  while  the  audience  heard  the 
name  upon  it  and  the  number  of  seals  it  bore  for 
special  reading  and  study. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  some  members  of 
the  class  arrived  on  the  ground  too  late  to  pass 
with  their  classmates  through  the  Golden  Gate  and 
under  the  arches.  For  their  benefit  the  Gate  was 
opened  a  second  time  before  the  afternoon  meet- 
ing, and  a  special  Recognition  service  was  held, 


206      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

so  that  they  might  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  the 
class.  This  is  another  custom  continued  every 
year,  for  always  it  is  needed. 

After  a  year  or  two  it  entered  the  facetious 
minds  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beard  to  originate  a  comic 
travesty  on  the  Recognition  service,  which  was 
presented  on  the  evening  after  the  formal  exercises, 
when  everybody  was  weary  and  was  ready  to  de- 
scend from  the  serious  heights.  This  grew  into 
quite  an  institution  and  was  continued  for  a  num- 
ber of  years — a  sort  of  mock-commencement, 
making  fun  of  the  prominent  figures  and  features 
of  the  day.  Almost  as  large  an  audience  was  wont 
to  assemble  for  this  evening  of  mirth  and  jollity, 
as  was  seen  at  the  stately  service  of  the  morning. 
This  in  turn  had  its  day  and  finally  grew  into  the 
Chautauqua  Circus,  an  amateur  performance 
which  is  still  continued  every  year  under  one  name 
or  another. 

We  have  given  much  space  to  the  story  of  the 
first  Recognition  Day,  as  a  sample  of  the  similar 
services  held  every  year  afterward,  growing  with 
the  growth  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  But  there  were 
other  events  of  '82  scarcely  less  noteworthy.  On 
that  year  a  great  organ  was  installed  in  the  Amphi- 
theater, and  its  effect  was  soon  seen  in  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  choir  and  the  improvement  in  the 


THE  FIRST  RECOGNITION  DAY    207 

music.  We  can  mention  only  in  the  briefest  man- 
ner some  of  the  speakers  on  the  platform  for 
that  year:  such  as  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris  of  Concord, 
Mass.,  afterward  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion; Professor  William  H.  Niles  of  Boston;  Mr. 
Wallace  Bruce;  Dr.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage;  Dr. 
Wm.  M.  Blackburn  of  Cincinnati,  the  church 
historian;  Dr.  A.  D.  Vail  of  New  York,  who  told 
in  an  interesting  manner  the  story  of  the  banner 
and  the  flag ;  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  the  great  college 
President;  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster;  Anthony  Corn- 
stock  and  John  B.  Gough,  with  others  equally  dis- 
tinguished whose  names  we  must  omit.  One  new 
name  appeared  upon  the  program  of  this  season 
which  will  be  read  often  in  the  coming  years,  that 
of  Mr.  Leon  H.  Vincent,  the  son  of  Rev.  B.  T. 
Vincent.  He  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  English 
literature,  mingling  biographical,  social,  and  critical 
views  of  the  great  writers,  attracting  large  audi- 
ences. We  shall  find  him  among  the  leading  lights 
of  Chautauqua  in  the  successive  chapters  of  our 
story. 

An  institution  which  began  that  year  and  has 
been  perpetuated  must  not  be  omitted — the  De- 
votional Conference.  Both  of  the  Founders  of 
Chautauqua  were  strong  in  their  purpose  to  hold 
the  Christian  religion  ever  in  the  forefront  at  the 


208      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Assembly.  Various  plans  were  tried  during  the 
early  years,  but  none  seemed  to  reach  the  con- 
stituency of  Chautauqua  until  Dr.  Benjamin  M. 
Adams,  at  Dr.  Vincent's  request,  began  holding  a 
daily  service  of  an  hour.  This  attracted  a  large 
attendance  and  was  continued  for  a  number  of 
years,  as  long  as  Dr.  Adams  could  conduct  it. 
Afterward  an  arrangement  was  made  which  has 
become  permanent.  Every  season  a  series  of 
eminent  clergymen  are  engaged,  each  to  serve  for 
one  week  as  chaplain.  He  preaches  the  Sunday 
morning  sermon  in  the  Amphitheater,  and  on  the 
following  five  days  at  ten  o'clock  conducts  the 
Devotional  Hour  in  the  same  place,  giving  a  series 
of  discourses,  Bible  readings,  or  addresses.  The 
speaker  of  each  week  is  a  man  of  national  or  inter- 
national fame.  The  greatest  preachers  in  the 
American  pulpit  have  spoken  at  this  service,  and 
the  audience  is  surpassed  in  numbers  only  by  the 
most  popular  lectures  or  concerts.  Many  there 
are  who  deem  this  the  most  precious  hour  in  the 
day. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SOME  STORIES  OF  THE   C.  L.  S.  C. 

(I883,    I884) 

WE  must  hasten  our  steps  through  the  passing 
years  at  Chautauqua.  Our  readers  may  take  for 
granted  that  the  regular  departments  were  con- 
tinued; that  the  Summer  Schools  were  adding 
new  courses  and  calling  new  professors;  that  the 
Normal  Class  for  the  training  of  Sunday  School 
workers  was  still  held,  no  longer  in  the  section- 
tents  nor  in  the  Children's  Temple,  but  under  a 
large  tent  on  an  elevation  where  two  years  later 
was  to  stand  the  Normal  Hall,  built  for  the  class, 
but  after  some  years  transferred  first  to  the  Mu- 
sical Department,  later  to  the  Summer  Schools 
and  partitioned  into  class-rooms.  The  Children's 
Class  was  still  held  by  Dr.  B.  T.  Vincent  and 
Professor  Frank  Beard,  for  our  friend  with  the 
crayon  was  now  in  the  faculty  of  the  School  of  Art 
in  Syracuse  University. 

In  1883  the  session  was  forty-five  days  long, 
from  July  I4th  to  August  27th.  A  new  feature  of 

«4  209 


210      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  program  was  an  "Ideal  Foreign  Tour  through 
Europe,"  with  illustrated  lectures  on  various  cities 
by  C.  E.  Bolton,  and  "Tourists'  Conferences*' 
conducted  by  his  wife,  the  cultured  Mrs.  Sarah  K. 
Bolton.  Mrs.  Emma  P.  Ewing  of  Chicago  taught 
classes  in  the  important  art  of  cookery.  Professor 
Charles  J.  Little  gave  a  course  of  lectures.  Hon. 
Albion  W.  Tourgee,  residing  at  Mayville,  who  had 
achieved  fame  soon  after  the  Civil  War  by  his  story, 
A  Fool^s  Errand,  gave  lectures  in  the  Amphitheater. 
Professor  William  C.  Richards  showed  brilliant  il- 
lustrations in  physical  science.  Dr.  P.  S.  Henson 
entertained  while  he  instructed;  President  Julius 
H.  Seelye,  Dr.  W.  F.  Mallalien,  later  a  Bishop, 
President  Joseph  Cummings  of  Northwestern 
University,  Hon.  Will  Cumback  of  Indiana,  and 
many  others,  gave  lectures. 

A  new  instructor  entered  the  School  of  Lan- 
guages in  1883,  in  the  person  of  William  Rainey 
Harper,  then  Professor  in  the  Baptist  School  of 
Theology  at  Morgan  Park,  Illinois,  afterward  to 
be  the  first  President  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 
No  man  ever  lived  who  could  inspire  a  class  with 
the  enthusiasm  that  he  could  awaken  over  the 
study  of  Hebrew,  could  lead  his  students  so  far  in 
that  language  in  a  six  weeks'  course,  or  could 
impart  such  broad  and  sane  views  of  the  Biblical 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  211 

literature.  From  this  year  Dr.  Harper  was  one  of 
the  leaders  at  Chautauqua,  and  soon  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  principalship  of  the  Summer  Schools. 
In  the  after  years,  while  Dr.  Harper  was  President 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  holding  classes 
all  the  year,  in  summer  as  well  as  winter,  he 
was  wont  to  take  the  train  every  Friday  afternoon, 
in  order  to  spend  Saturday  and  Sunday  at 
Chautauqua.  Chautauquans  of  those  days  will 
also  remember  the  recitals  by  Professor  Robert  L. 
Cumnock  of  Northwestern  University,  a  reader 
who  was  a  scholar  in  the  best  literature. 

The  class  of  1883,  though  not  as  large  as  its  pre- 
decessor, the  Pioneers,  was  graduated  with  the 
same  ceremonies,  the  address  on  Recognition 
Day  given  by  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  of  New  York, 
one  of  the  Counsellors  of  the  Circle.  Five  years 
had  now  passed  since  the  inauguration  of  this 
movement,  and  from  every  quarter  testimonials 
of  its  power  and  incidents  showing  its  influence 
were  received.  Let  me  mention  a  few  of  these 
which  came  under  my  own  notice. 

I  met  a  lady  who  mentioned  that  she  and  her 
husband  were  reading  the  course  together  and  they 
found  the  only  available  hour  between  six  and 
seven  in  the  morning,  before  breakfast.  For  the 
study  of  the  course  they  both  had  risen  at  half  past 


212      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

five  for  a  year  or  more.  One  result  of  this  early 
morning  reading  was,  she  said,  that  at  the  break- 
fast table  they  told  the  children  stories  of  history 
and  science,  which  she  thought  turned  their  minds 
toward  knowledge.  Among  the  books  was  one 
on  Human  Physiology — a  book,  which,  by  the 
way,  I  did  not  rate  very  highly  and  objected  to  as 
being  so  elementary  as  to  become  almost  juvenile; 
yet  that  book  awakened  such  an  interest  that  the 
lady  began  to  read  more  widely  and  deeply  on  the 
subject,  after  a  few  months  entered  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  in  New  York,  during  her  course 
took  several  prizes,  and  graduated  with  high 
honors.  It  may  have  been  that  she  foresaw  what 
came,  the  failure  of  her  husband's  health,  so  that 
of  necessity  she  became  the  bread-winner  for 
her  family.  She  was  a  successful  physician, 
honored  in  the  community,  the  Chautauqua  Circle 
having  opened  to  her  wider  opportunities  of 
knowledge  and  usefulness. 

Two  college  professors  of  high  standing  have 
told  me  that  they  were  first  awakened  to  a  desire 
and  determination  for  higher  education  through 
their  early  readings  in  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 

One  rather  amusing  yet  suggestive  incident  came 
to  my  notice.  Visiting  a  city  in  the  Middle  West, 
I  met  a  lady  who  told  me  that  she  belonged  to  a 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  213 

club  of  young  people  who  met  weekly  in  a  card 
party.  One  member  told  the  rest  about  the  C.  L. 
S.  C.  which  she  had  joined  and  showed  them  the 
books,  whereupon  they  all  sent  in  their  names  as 
members,  and  the  card  club  was  transformed  into 
a  Chautauqua  Reading  Circle. 

I  was  seated  with  Dr.  Edward  E.  Hale  at  a  C.  L. 
S.  C.  banquet  in  New  England,  when  he  pointed 
out  a  middle-aged  gentleman  at  the  head  of  one 
of  the  tables  and  told  me  this  story  about  him. 

While  a  boy  he  came  to  his  father  and  said,  "  I  don't 
want  to  go  to  school  any  longer,  I  want  to  go  to  work 
and  earn  my  own  living,  and  there's  a  place  in  Boston 
that  is  open  to  me."  "  Well,"  said  his  father,  "perhaps 
you  would  better  take  the  place,  I've  noticed  that  you 
are  not  paying  much  attention  to  your  studies  of  late. 
I'm  very  sorry  for  I  have  set  my  heart  on  giving  you 
a  good  education.  You  don't  know  now,  but  you'll 
find  out  later  that  the  difference  between  the  man  who 
gives  orders  and  the  man  who  takes  them  is  that 
generally  one  of  the  two  men  knows  more  than  the 
other,  and  knowledge  brings  a  man  up  in  the  world." 
The  boy  went  to  Boston  and  took  a  job  in  a  big  store, 
and  he  found  that  he  was  taking  a  good  many  orders 
from  those  above  him  and  giving  none  to  others.  He 
realized  that  for  success  in  life  he  needed  an  education. 
Ashamed  to  give  up  and  go  home,  he  began  to  attend 
an  evening  school  which  some  of  us  had  established. 
There  I  met  him  and  was  able  to  give  him  some  en- 
couragement and  some  help.  He  became  a  well-read 


214      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

and,  in  the  end,  a  successful  business  man.  As  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  Chautauqua  Circle,  he  began  to 
read  its  books  and  was  made  President  of  a  local  circle. 
That  table  is  filled  with  the  members  of  his  circle  and 
he  sits  at  the  head  of  it. 

I  wish  that  I  could  write  down  a  story  as  it  was 
told  me  by  Dr.  Duryea,  at  Chautauqua.  It  was  of 
a  man  who  sat  at  his  table  in  the  Hotel  and  was 
always  in  a  hurry,  never  finishing  his  meals  in  his 
haste  to  get  to  lectures  and  classes.  The  Doctor 
got  him  to  talking  and  he  forgot  to  drink  his  coffee 
while  telling  his  story.  He  said  that  he  kept  a 
country  store  in  a  village  in  Arkansas,  where  the 
young  men  used  to  come  in  the  evenings  and  tell 
stories  together.  He  felt  that  he  was  leading  a 
rather  narrow  life  and  needed  intelligence,  but  did 
not  know  where  to  obtain  it.  There  were  books 
enough  in  the  world,  but  how  could  he  choose  the 
right  ones?  A  newspaper  fell  under  his  notice 
containing  some  mention  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C. ;  he 
sent  his  fee  to  the  office,  obtained  the  books  for  the 
year,  and  began  to  read  in  the  intervals  of  time  be- 
tween customers  in  his  store.  For  retirement  he 
fixed  up  a  desk  and  shelf  of  books  in  the  rear  of 
the  shop.  Some  of  his  evening  callers  said,  "What 
have  you  got  back  there?"  and  he  showed  his 
books,  telling  them  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  A  number 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  215 

of  them  at  once  decided  to  join,  and  soon  he  found 
himself  the  conductor  of  a  Chautauqua  Circle  with 
twenty  members.  They  fixed  up  a  meeting  place 
in  a  store-room  in  a  garret  under  the  eaves,  talked 
over  the  topics,  and  read  papers.  When  the  text- 
book on  electricity  was  before  them,  they  made 
experiments  with  home-made  batteries  and  ran 
wires  all  around  the  room.  The  man  said,  ' '  Those 
fellows  look  to  me  to  answer  all  sorts  of  questions, 
and  I  find  that  I  am  getting  beyond  my  depth. 
I  have  come  to  Chautauqua  to  fill  up  and  I'm 
doing  it.  But  the  difficulty  is  that  too  many 
things  come  at  the  same  time;  here's  a  lecture 
on  American  authors  and  one  on  biology,  and 
one  on  history,  all  at  once,  and  I  never  know 
which  to  attend.  But  Chautauqua  is  a  great 
place,  isn't  it?" 

A  servant  in  a  family,  while  waiting  at  the  table, 
heard  the  lady  and  her  daughters  talking  of  the 
Circle  which  was  being  formed.  The  girl  asked 
her  mistress  if  she  would  be  permitted  to  join. 
With  some  hesitation,  the  lady  said,  "Why,  yes,  if 
you  really  wish  to  read  the  books,  you  can  be  a 
member."  This  serving-maid  soon  showed  herself 
as  the  brightest  scholar  in  the  group,  far  superior 
in  her  thirst  for  knowledge  to  her  young  mistresses. 
She  was  encouraged  and  aided  to  seek  a  higher 


216     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

education,  entered  a  Normal  School,  and  became 
a  successful  teacher. 

One  letter  received  at  the  office  contained,  in 
brief,  the  following :  "  I  am  a  working-man  with  six 
children  and  I  work  hard  to  keep  them  in  school. 
Since  I  found  out  about  your  Circle,  I  have  begun 
to  read,  getting  up  early  in  the  morning  to  do  it. 
I  am  trying  hard  to  keep  up,  so  that  my  boys  will 
see  what  father  does — just  as  an  example  to  them." 

A  letter  from  a  night  watchman  said,  "I  read 
as  I  come  on  my  rounds  to  the  lights,  and  think  it 
over  between  times." 

A  steamboat  captain  on  one  of  the  western 
rivers  wrote  that  he  enjoyed  reading  the  books 
and  found  the  recollection  of  their  contents  a  great 
benefit,  "for  when  I  stand  on  the  deck  at  night  I 
have  something  good  to  think  about ;  and  you  know 
that  when  one  has  not  taken  care  of  his  thoughts 
they  will  run  away  with  him  and  he  will  think 
about  things  he  ought  not." 

I  was  well  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  and  his 
wife,  both  of  unspotted  character,  but  unfortu- 
nately living  apart  from  some  incompatibility. 
He  was  accustomed  to  call  upon  her  every  fort- 
night, in  a  formal  manner,  professedly  to  meet 
their  children,  and  on  one  of  his  visits  he  mentioned 
that  he  was  beginning  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  readings.  She 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  217 

was  desirous  of  knowing  what  those  letters  meant; 
he  explained  and  gave  her  a  circular  of  information. 
She,  too,  joined  the  Circle,  and  next  time  at  his  call 
they  spent  an  evening  pleasantly  discussing  the 
subjects  of  reading  that  both  were  pursuing.  From 
a  fortnightly  they  dropped  into  a  weekly  interview, 
and  after  a  time  spent  nearly  all  their  evenings 
together.  One  day  I  met  them  together,  and  being 
aware  of  their  former  relations,  I  perhaps  showed 
surprise.  The  husband  took  me  aside  and  said 
that  they  were  now  living  together  very  hap- 
pily, thanks  to  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  They  had  for- 
gotten their  differences  in  a  common  object  of 
interest. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  one  book 
of  the  course  was  on  the  subject  of  practical 
Christianity.  At  one  time,  the  religious  book  was 
The  Philosophy  of  the  Plan  of  Salvation,  by 
Dr.  Walker,  a  work  widely  read  two  generations 
ago  and  regarded  as  a  standard.  We  received  at 
the  office  a  letter  from  a  high-school  teacher  who 
said  that  he  was  an  agnostic  and  did  not  wish  to 
read  such  a  book — could  he  not  read  some  scien- 
tific work  by  Tyndall  or  Huxley  in  place  of  it  ?  Miss 
Kimball  referred  his  letter  to  me,  and  I  took  it  to 
Dr.  Vincent.  He  considered  the  question,  and 
then  wrote  in  substance  this  answer: 


218      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

If  you  were  a  Unitarian,  you  could  read  a  volume 
by  James  Martineau;  if  you  were  a  Roman  Catholic, 
you  could  read  one  of  many  good  Catholic  religious 
books;  if  you  were  a  Jew  you  might  take  some  book 
upon  your  own  religion.  But  you  call  yourself  an 
agnostic,  that  is,  one  who  does  not  know  God  and  has 
no  religion,  and  therefore,  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
your  course  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to  read  some 
candid,  sane  work  on  the  Christian  religion;  and  such 
is  Walker's  "Plan  of  Salvation." 

The  letter  closed  with  a  friendly  request  that 
he  would  read  the  book  without  a  strong  prej- 
udice against  it,  and  some  hearty  sympathetic 
sentences  which  Dr.  Vincent  knew  how  to  write. 
For  a  year  we  heard  nothing  of  the  man;  we  con- 
cluded that  he  had  been  offended  at  the  require- 
ment and  had  left  the  Circle.  We  were  surprised 
when  at  last  another  letter  came  from  him  stating 
that  he  had  read  the  book,  at  first  unwillingly,  but 
later  with  deep  interest;  also  that  association  with 
believers  in  the  Circle  had  shown  them,  not  as  he 
had  supposed,  narrow  and  bigoted,  but  broad  in 
their  views.  He  had  seen  in  them  a  mystic  some- 
thing which  he  desired;  he  had  sought  and  found 
it.  "To-day,"  he  wrote,  "I  have  united  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  this  evening  I  led  the 
Christian  Endeavor  meeting." 

Dr.  Hale  told  of  a  man  who  had  been  formerly  a 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  219 

pupil  and  youth  in  his  church,  who  was  suffering 
from  nervous  prostration,  and  lay  down  in  a  shack 
in  an  out-of-the-way  place  in  Florida,  almost  ready 
to  die.  His  eyes  were  drawn  to  the  orange-colored 
cover  of  a  magazine  which  he  had  never  seen  be- 
fore, The  Chautauquan.  He  opened  it  at  random 
and  began  to  read.  "Are  you  a  child  of  God? 
Are  you  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature?  If  you 
are,  work  with  God !  Don't  give  up  working  with 
God ! "  It  seemed  to  him  like  a  voice  from  heaven. 
On  that  moment  he  said  to  himself,  "I  will  not 
die,  but  live!"  He  began  to  read  the  magazine 
and  followed  it  by  reading  the  books  to  which  the 
magazine  made  reference.  They  opened  before 
him  a  new  field  of  thought  and  made  of  him  a  new 
man.  He  told  this  story  to  Dr.  Hale  in  his  own 
church  and  said:  "I  am  here  because  of  that 
orange-covered  Chautauquan  which  I  found  lying 
under  the  bench  in  that  old  cabin." 

It  is  possible,  nay,  it  is  certain,  that  the  Chau- 
tauqua  Circle,  by  being  not  a  church  society,  but  a 
secular  organization  permeated  by  the  Christian 
spirit,  has  exercised  an  influence  all  the  stronger  to 
promote  an  intelligent,  broad-minded  Christianity. 

Everyone  active  in  Chautauqua  work  through 
a  series  of  years  could  narrate  many  stories  like 
the  above,  and  doubtless  some  more  remarkable; 


220      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

but  I  have  given  only  a  few  out  of  many  that  could 
be  recalled  out  of  an  experience  with  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 
through  more  than  forty  years.  As  I  have  looked 
upon  the  representatives  of  the  graduating  class 
in  the  Hall  of  Philosophy,  I  have  often  wished 
that  I  might  know  some  of  the  life-stories  of  those 
who,  often  through  difficulties  unknown,  have 
carried  the  course  through  to  completion. 

An  eminent  minister  wrote  to  me  recently  as 
follows : 

At  a  place  where  I  became  pastor  I  found  two  sisters 
who  were  living  in  dark  seclusion,  brooding  in  melan- 
cholia as  the  effect  of  a  great  sorrow.  They  attended 
church,  but  took  no  part  in  our  work,  and  none  at  all 
in  society.  I  did  my  best  to  comfort  those  young 
women  and  bring  them  out  of  their  monasticism.  But 
it  was  all  in  vain.  Their  broken  spirits  revolted 
from  a  religion  of  happiness.  A  few  years  after  my 
pastorate  was  ended  there,  and  I  was  preaching  else- 
where, I  visited  the  town  and  was  surprised  to  find 
both  those  women  among  the  most  active  women  in 
the  church,  happy,  gifted,  and  universally  esteemed. 
What  had  wrought  the  change?  They  chanced  to 
hear  of  the  Chautauqua  Reading  Course  and  sent  for 
the  books  and  magazines.  They  pursued  the  course, 
graduated,  and  visited  Chautauqua.  It  awakened  their 
entire  being  and  brought  them  into  a  new  world.  They 
were  literally  born  anew.  I  have  witnessed  wonderful 
changes  in  people,  but  never  any  that  was  more  thor- 
ough, real,  and  permanent  than  in  those  young  women. 


*   •?••:*•./ 


South  Ravine,  Near  Children's 
Playground 


Muscallonge 


Bathhouse  and  Jacob  Bolin  Gymnasium 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  221 

Let  us  name  also  some  of  the  leading  events  of 
the  Assembly  of  1884.  As  the  organ  of  the  C.  Y. 
F.  R.  U.  Dr.  Flood  established  The  Youth's  C.  L. 
S.  C.  Paper  for  boys  and  girls.  It  was  an  illus- 
trated magazine,  but  only  twelve  numbers  were 
published,  as  the  field  for  periodical  literature 
for  young  people  was  already  well  covered. 
"The  Chautauqua  Foreign  Tour,"  a  series  of 
illustrated  lectures  on  the  British  Isles,  was  con- 
ducted this  year  by  Rev.  Jesse  Bowman  Young, 
Professor  H.  H.  Ragan,  and  Mr.  George  Make- 
peace Towle.  Music  was  abundant  and  varied 
this  season,  the  choir  being  led  by  Professors 
Sherwin  and  Case  in  turn;  concerts  by  a  remark- 
able quartet,  the  Meigs  Sisters;  the  delightful 
singers  of  southern  plantation  and  revival  songs, 
the  Tennesseans;  the  Yale  College  Glee  Club; 
Miss  Belle  McClintock,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Hull,  Mr.  E.  O. 
Excell,  and  Miss  Tuthill,  soloists.  Dr.  Charles 
J.  Little  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  English  litera- 
ture; Dr.  Henson,  Miss  Susan  Hayes  Ward,  Dr. 
J.  W.  Butler  of  Mexico,  and  Dr.  S.  S.  Smith  of 
Minnesota  were  among  the  lecturers.  We  heard 
Ram  Chandra  Bose  and  Dennis  Osborne  of  India, 
and  Sau  Aubrah  of  Burmah,  a  most  interesting 
speaker  on  the  customs  of  his  country  and  his 
impressions  of  ours.  Principal  Fairbairn  of  Ox- 


222      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ford  made  the  history  of  philosophy  interesting, 
and  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Palmer  of  New  York  won  in- 
stant fame  by  his  great  war  lecture,  "  Company  D, 
the  Die-no-more 's,"  given  on  Grand  Army  Day  to 
a  great  concourse  of  old  soldiers. 

On  Saturday,  August  23d,  a  reception  was  given 
to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  Hon.  Robert  E. 
Pattison.  Friday,  August  I5th,  was  observed  as 
the  decennial  anniversary  of  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union.  I  find  on  the  program 
of  that  year  a  series  of  colloquies  named  "The 
Socratic  Academy,"  conducted  by  Dr.  H.  H. 
Moore.  I  know  not  what  subjects  they  discussed, 
nor  how  they  discussed  them,  but  I  remember 
Dr.  Moore  as  one  able  to  shed  light  on  any  sub- 
ject that  he  chose  to  present.  As  I  read  the  pro- 
gram of  any  one  of  those  years  at  Chautauqua,  I 
realize  how  utterly  inadequate  must  be  any  sketch 
like  the  above  to  bring  it  before  a  reader. 

By  this  time  three  classes  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 
had  been  graduated,  '82,  '83,  and  '84.  Four  more 
classes  were  pursuing  the  course,  so  that  C.  L. 
S.  C.  members  present  at  Chautauqua  might  now 
be  counted  by  the  thousand.  There  was  a  strong 
class-spirit.  Each  class  had  its  name,  its  motto, 
its  badge,  and  its  banner,  and  ribbon  badges  were 
fluttering  everywhere.  Every  day  came  announce- 


SOME  STORIES  OF  THE  C.  L.  S.  C.  223 

ments  from  the  platform  of  class-meetings,  and  it 
was  sometimes  difficult  to  provide  for  them  all. 
During  the  season  of  1884  two  classes  united  their 
interests,  raised  money,  and  purchased  a  small 
octagonal  building  near  the  Hall  of  Philosophy. 
These  were  the  classes  of  '83  and  '85.  The  move- 
ment for  class  headquarters  was  growing;  all  the 
other  classes  began  the  raising  of  building  funds, 
and  those  who  looked  into  the  future  saw  all 
around  St.  Paul's  Grove  the  prospect  of  small 
buildings  rising.  How  would  the  grounds  appear 
when  forty  classes  should  have  little  headquarters 
—a  C.  L.  S.  C.  village?  The  plan  began  to  be 
mooted  of  a  Union  Class  Building,  to  be  realized 
later. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  AND  OTHER  TRUE  TALES 
(1885-1888) 

THE  twelfth  year  of  the  Assembly,  1885,  opened 
with  a  preliminary  week,  beginning  July  7th,  for 
the  Teachers*  Retreat  and  the  School  of  Lan- 
guages, and  closed  with  "After- week,"  making 
the  entire  session  fifty-three  days  long,  ending  on 
August  28th.  But  the  official  "opening"  did  not 
take  place  until  the  traditional  date,  Tuesday, 
August  7th.  For  years,  indeed  from  the  begin- 
ning, Dr.  Vincent  had  set  his  heart  on  having  a 
chime  of  bells  at  Chautauqua.  The  practically 
minded  trustees  urged  for  some  needed  improve- 
ment, and  buildings  for  the  growing  schools,  but 
the  poetic  conception  carried  the  day,  and  in  1885 
the  Meneely  chime  of  ten  bells  was  heard  at  the 
opening  in  July.  Some  common  souls  in  cottages 
around  complained  of  their  frequency,  awaking 
folks  early  in  the  morning  and  breaking  their  naps 
in  the  afternoon,  but  to  most  their  mellow  music 
was  a  welcome  sound. 

224 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  225 

It  has  always  been  the  rule  that  quiet  must 
reign  on  the  grounds  after  the  night  bells  at  10:00 
P.M.,  and  watchmen  have  been  wont  to  knock  at 
doors  where  the  rule  was  honored  in  the  breach 
instead  of  the  observance.  A  parlor  full  of  young 
people  enjoying  themselves  does  not  always  come 
to  silence  in  a  minute.  I  remember  one  house 
near  the  Point  where  dwelt  an  elderly  lady  with 
abundant  gray  hair  but  a  young  heart,  and  also 
with  an  attractive  daughter.  That  home  was 
exceedingly  popular  among  the  younger  set,  and 
their  meetings — doubtless  held  for  the  discussion 
of  serious  subjects,  for  the  voices  were  sometimes 
loud — were  often  prolonged  beyond  the  time  of 
the  bells.  One  night  an  unusually  imperative  rap 
of  the  watchman's  stick  on  the  front  door  startled 
the  group.  The  door  was  opened  a  little  and  the 
matron  put  forth  her  head  with  the  words  loudly 
spoken,  "Shoot,  if  you  must,  this  old  gray  head!'1 
whereupon  the  watchman  departed  without  a 
word. 

In  the  revolution  of  the  Chautauqua  Circle,  1885 
was  known  as  the  Roman  year,  having  as  its  major 
subject  Latin  history  and  literature.  The  studies 
of  the  "Foreign  Tour"  in  the  Assembly  program 
embraced  lectures,  with  illustrations  on  Italian 
cities  and  scenery.  Dr.  Vincent's  fertile  mind 

IS 


226      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

conceived  a  plan  to  aid  the  students  of  the  course, 
and  incidentally  to  advertise  it,  by  a  series  of 
object-lessons.  He  divided  Pratt  Avenue,  the 
path  leading  up  to  the  college  on  the  hill,  into  sec- 
tions corresponding  by  their  relative  lengths  to  the 
periods  of  Roman  history,  and  erected  at  the 
proper  points  along  the  road,  posts  to  commemo- 
rate the  leading  events,  with  dates  and  names  of 
the  great  men  of  the  several  periods.  These  mile- 
stones were  black,  with  inscriptions  in  white.  As 
people  passed  by  they  would  be  reminded  of  the 
leading  facts  in  the  story  of  the  Eternal  City. 
Often  might  be  seen  members  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C., 
notebook  in  hand,  storing  their  minds  with  the 
dates  and  events  in  the  annals  of  Rome.  The 
coal-black  pillars  had  a  somewhat  sepulchral  look 
and  suggested  a  graveyard.  One  lady  who  was  a 
stranger  at  Chautauqua,  and  evidently  not  a 
member  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  asked  Dr.  R.  S.  Holmes, 
one  of  the  leading  workers,  "Can  you  tell  me  why 
all  these  tombstones  have  been  set  up  here.  Surely 
all  the  men  named  on  them  cannot  be  buried  along 
this  street!"  The  question  was  also  asked  if  it 
was  proposed  each  year  to  set  up  a  row  of  trophies 
on  other  streets  for  the  American  year,  the  Eng- 
lish year,  the  Greek  year,  and  by  degrees  to  turn 
all  Chautauqua  into  a  memorial  grove  for  great 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  227 

men  and  great  deeds  of  all  the  ages ;  but  at  the  close 
of  the  season  the  monuments  were  gathered  up 
and  carried  away,  leaving  no  successors. 

The  lecture  platform  of  1885  was  as  strong  as 
ever.  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems  of  New  York  de- 
livered the  baccalaureate  sermon  on  Sunday, 
August  1 6th,  an  unique  discourse  on  the  short  text, 
"One  New  Man"  (Eph.  2:15),  and  the  Recogni- 
tion Address  on  the  following  Wednesday  was  by 
Dr.  E.  E.  Hale  of  Boston.  A  special  series  of 
"Yale  University  Historical  Lectures"  was  given 
by  Professor  Arthur  M.  Wheeler.  Bishop  Cyrus 
D.  Foss  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
preached  on  Sunday,  August  23d.  Dr.  John  P. 
Newman  delivered  a  lecture  on  August  25th  in 
memory  of  President  U.  S.  Grant,  of  whom  he  had 
been  a  friend  and  pastor.  This  year  a  young  man 
made  his  first  appearance  upon  the  Chautauqua 
platform,  not  yet  as  a  lecturer,  but  introducing 
speakers  in  felicitous  sentences  and  presiding  with 
the  ease  of  an  experienced  chairman.  This  was 
Mr.  George  Edgar  Vincent,  just  graduated  from 
Yale  University,  from  whom  Chautauqua  and  the 
world  in  general  was  to  hear  before  many  years. 

In  1885,  the  institution  received  a  new  charter 
from  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  giving  it  the 
name  "Chautauqua  University"  and  the  power 


228      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

to  confer  degrees.  By  vote  of  the  Board,  the  title 
"Chancellor  of  the  Chautauqua  University"  was 
given  to  Dr.  Vincent.  It  was  hoped  to  establish  a 
college  for  study  by  correspondence,  with  reviews 
of  the  subjects  taught  in  the  summer  meeting. 
But  the  expense  of  a  professional  staff  was  great 
and  the  number  of  students  was  not  large  enough 
to  support  it  without  an  endowment.  The  Chau- 
tauqua University  might  have  won  a  place  in  the 
world  of  education,  if  friends  had  been  found  to 
bestow  upon  it  a  liberal  endowment,  but  among 
the  varied  gifts  of  Dr.  Vincent  was  not  that  pecu- 
liar talent  for  raising  money.  The  University 
did  not  prosper,  and  in  1898  the  Trustees  volun- 
tarily surrendered  to  the  Regents  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York  the  examina- 
tion of  candidates  and  the  conferring  of  degrees. 
Again  the  title  was  changed  and  the  University 
became  "The  Chautauqua  System  of  Education." 
The  year  1886  ushered  in  some  improvements. 
In  place  of  the  old  wharf  stood  a  new  pier  building, 
three  stories  high,  with  stores  on  the  upper  bal- 
cony, for  the  steamboat  still  brought  most  of  the 
Chautauqua  crowds  and  at  their  arrival  a  throng 
was  always  present  to  greet  them.  Above  the 
building  rose  a  tower,  from  which  sounded  forth 
over  the  lake  and  through  the  Grove  the  melody 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  229 

of  the  Chautauqua  chimes.  On  the  hill  was  the 
new  Jewett  House,  given  by  Mrs.  A.  H.  Jewett  as 
a  home  for  self -supporting  young  women,  teachers 
and  others,  while  at  Chautauqua. 

The  program  of  that  year  shows  that  a  faculty 
of  sixteen  conducted  the  work  in  the  Chautauqua 
Teachers'  Retreat,  and  fifteen  others  gave  courses 
in  the  School  of  Languages.  Lessons  in  Harmony, 
Organ  and  Piano,  Drawing  and  Painting  were  also 
added.  The  Chautauqua  School  of  Physical  Edu- 
cation was  established  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
W.  G.  Anderson.  All  these  were  signs  that  the 
system  of  summer  schools  at  Chautauqua  was  in- 
creasing its  range  of  study,  as  well  as  growing  in 
the  number  of  its  students. 

One  of  the  lecturers  at  this  season  was  Professor 
Caleb  T.  Winchester  of  Wesleyan  University.  It 
was  a  privilege  to  listen  to  his  scholarly  yet  de- 
lightful account  of  a  ramble  in  the  English  lake 
country,  with  estimates  of  the  literary  lights  who 
made  that  region  famous.  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Milburn, 
the  blind  chaplain  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
Dr.  Russell  H.  Con  well,  with  his  lecture  of  "  Acres 
of  Diamonds,"  Dr.  Edward  E.  Hale  and  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  Livermore  also  gave  lectures.  Dr. 
Hale  read  his  story,  In  His  Name;  and  at  the 
close  of  his  reading  came  a  general  rush  for  his 


230     THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

autograph.  I  happened  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
platform,  and  tried  to  excuse  the  speaker  from 
adding  to  his  burdens,  but  he  declared  his  willing- 
ness to  meet  the  demands  of  the  people  and  wrote 
in  every  album  offered.  In  the  crowd  was  a  little 
girl,  shabbily  dressed,  who  had  no  album,  but 
brought  a  scrap  of  brown  paper  which  she  had 
picked  up.  Dr.  Hale  looked  at  the  torn  fragment, 
then  took  the  copy  of  his  story  from  which  he  had 
been  reading,  wrote  on  its  fly-leaf  his  name,  and 
handed  it  to  the  little  girl. 

Two  lecturers  from  the  South  attracted  atten- 
tion. One  was  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Lee,  an  able, 
-broad-minded  man;  the  other  was  the  unique 
evangelist,  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones,  whose  utterances 
were  sometimes  eloquent,  sometimes  jocose,  some- 
times shocking,  but  always  interesting.  Dr.  Willis 
J.  Beecher  of  the  Auburn  Theological  Seminary, 
Dr.  John  Hall  of  New  York,  and  President  William 
F.  Warren  of  Boston  University  were  also  among 
the  speakers. 

Readings  were  given  by  Will  M.  Carleton, 
George  W.  Cable,  and  General  Lew  Wallace,  from 
their  own  writings.  An  immense  crowd  packed  the 
Amphitheater  to  hear  General  Wallace  read  from 
his  Ben  Hur  the  story  of  the  Chariot  Race.  But 
candor  compels  us  to  say  that  it  was  not  very 


Athletic  Club 


Boys'  Club  Headed  for  Camp 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  231 

thrillingly  rendered.  One  who  listened  said,  ' '  He 
never  got  his  horses  off  the  walk."  Other  readers 
were  George  Riddle  of  Boston  and  Professor  R.  L. 
Cumnock  of  Northwestern  University.  This  sum- 
mer Mrs.  Frank  Beard  collected  and  conducted 
an  Oriental  Exhibition. 

Almost  every  year  Frank  Beard  was  at  Chau- 
tauqua,  teaching  a  class  in  art,  making  pictures  in 
the  children's  class,  giving  one  or  two  crayon 
lectures,  and  occasionally  on  Sunday  evenings  an 
illustrated  Bible  reading.  As  already  intimated, 
that  was  the  age  when  there  was  a  craze  for  auto- 
graphs, and  everybody  carried  around  an  auto- 
graph album,  seeking  signatures  from  the  celeb- 
rities. After  a  popular  lecture  a  crowd  hastened 
to  the  platform  and  a  hundred  hands,  each  holding 
an  album,  would  be  stretched  out  toward  the 
speaker,  demanding  his  autograph.  Of  course 
every  child,  and  nearly  every  grown-up,  must  have 
Frank  Beard's  autograph,  and  with  it  a  picture 
drawn  by  his  hand.  Frank  said  once  in  a  religious 
meeting  that  his  idea  of  heaven  was  a  place  where 
there  were  no  autograph  albums. 

Every  year  at  Chautauqua  is  held  a  National 
Army  Day,  when  the  Civil  War  veterans  from 
near  and  far  assemble,  wear  their  G.  A.  R.  uni- 
forms and  badges,  and  listen  to  an  address  in  the 


232      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Amphitheater.  One  year,  I  think  it  was  1886, 
but  I  am  not  sure,  the  orator  was  late  in  coming, 
and  Mr.  Beard,  himself  a  veteran  of  the  war,  was 
called  upon  to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  told  the  story 
of  "The  Chaplain's  Leg,"  of  which  some  incredu- 
lous people  have  doubted  the  authenticity.  As  I 
remember  it  was  somewhat  as  follows.  He  would 
come  forward,  slapping  his  right  leg,  and  saying: 

That  is  a  good  leg,  but  it  isn't  mine.  It  belonged 
once  to  the  chaplain  of  our  regiment;  I  was  in  a 
battle  and  happened  to  have  a  tree  between  myself  and 
the  whole  rebel  army.  There  was  a  change  in  the 
front,  and  I  started  to  make  a  detour  to  another  tree. 
Just  in  the  middle  of  my  march  I  ran  against  the 
chaplain,  who  was  also  making  a  detour,  and  at  that 
moment  came  along  a  rebel  shell,  which  took  off  one 
of  his  legs  and  also  one  of  mine.  We  lay  on  the  ground 
only  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  an  ambulance  took  us 
and  the  two  legs  on  board.  They  carried  us  to  the 
field  hospital,  and  put  on  our  legs,  which  grew  just  as 
they  should,  so  that  after  a  few  weeks  I  was  dismissed 
as  cured.  Well,  I  had  been  a  long  time,  for  me,  with- 
out liquid  refreshment,  and  I  knew  that  out  in  the 
woods  near  the  camp  was  an  extemporized  bar,  in  the 
shape  of  a  board  laid  on  two  stumps  of  trees.  I  found 
it  hard  to  walk  in  that  direction,  and  had  to  pull  my 
right  leg  along;  but  I  thought  that  it  needed  only  a 
little  practice  to  be  as  good  as  ever.  I  got  to  the  bar 
and  ordered  a  glass  of  something;  it  might  have  been 
ginger-pop  or  it  might  have  been  something  else.  Just 
after  it  was  poured  out  and  before  I  could  take  hold  of 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  233 

it,  that  right  leg  of  mine  lifted  itself  up  and  kicked 
over  the  whole  contraption — glass,  and  jug,  and  bar, 
and  then  in  spite  of  all  I  could  do,  stumped  me  back  to 
camp!  And  on  the  way  I  passed  the  chaplain  who 
was  being  dragged  out  to  the  bar,  while  I  was  being 
pulled  away  from  it.  Then  I  knew  what  had  hap- 
pened in  the  hospital;  they  had  put  each  leg  on  the 
wrong  man,  and  I  must  carry  around  the  chaplain's 
leg  as  long  as  I  lived.  The  leg  took  me  to  church ;  at 
first  it  was  pretty  tough,  but  I  got  used  to  it.  That 
leg  brought  me  to  Chautauqua,  and  here  I  am  to-day, 
brought  by  the  chaplain's  leg.  Some  time  ago  I  gave 
by  request  a  lecture  with  pictures  in  the  Sing  Sing 
prison,  and  there  among  the  convicts  sat  my  old  friend 
the  chaplain,  wearing  a  striped  suit.  What  brought 
him  there  I  can't  imagine,  unless — well,  I  don't  know 
what  it  was. 

The  Assembly  of  1887  was  fifty-eight  days  in 
length,  from  July  2d  to  August  28th.  The  schools 
were  still  growing  in  the  number  of  students  and  en- 
larging their  courses.  Some  of  the  new  depart- 
ments were  the  Arabic  and  Assyrian  languages, 
mathematics,  chemistry,  oratory  and  expression, 
stenography,  mineralogy,  and  geology.  To  house 
these  classes  and  the  army  of  students,  buildings 
were  urgently  needed,  and  this  year  a  College 
Building  arose  overlooking  the  lake.  It  stood 
until  two  years  ago,  when  on  account  of  its  dilapi- 
dation as  well  as  its  incongruity  with  the  modern 
plans  of  the  schools,  it  was  taken  down. 


234      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

During  the  season  of  1887,  the  Fourth  of  July 
Address  was  given  by  Hon.  Roswell  G.  Horr, 
member  of  Congress  from  Michigan.  Dr.  Fair- 
bairn  from  Oxford  was  with  us  again,  also  the 
Rev.  Mark  Guy  Pearse  of  England,  Dr.  Charles  J. 
Little,  Dr.  John  A.  Broadus  of  Louisville,  one  of 
those  scholars  who  know  how  to  present  great  truths 
in  a  simple  manner,  Chaplain  McCabe,  Dr.  Charles 
R.  Henderson,  on  social  questions  of  the  time,  and 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore.  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones 
was  also  on  the  platform  for  the  second  season. 
He  gave  his  powerful  sermon  on  "Conscience'* 
with  not  a  sentence  to  provoke  a  smile,  but  a 
strong  call  to  righteousness.  Another  address, 
however,  contained  an  application  which  called 
forth  a  smile  all  over  the  audience.  It  was  known 
that  Dr.  Vincent  was  being  strongly  talked  of  as  a 
candidate  for  Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  in  the  following  May,  1888,  he  was 
elected  to  that  office.  Dr.  Vincent  was  presiding 
at  Mr.  Jones'  lecture.  In  the  address  Jones  man- 
aged to  bring  in  an  allusion  to  bishops.  Then 
turning  halfway  round  toward  the  chairman,  he 
said,  "Doctor  Vincent,  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  they 
made  you  and  me  bishops  before  long.  You  see 
the  thing's  coming  down." 

The  class  graduating  this  year  in  the  C.  L.  S.  C. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  235 

was  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  Circle.  It  in- 
cluded in  its  membership  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Alden  and 
his  wife,  and  was  named  in  her  honor,  the  Pansy 
class.  At  this  time  the  enrolled  members  of  the  C. 
L.  S.  C.  were  more  than  eighty  thousand  in  number. 

The  Assembly  of  1888  opened  on  July  3d  and 
closed  on  August  29th,  fifty-eight  days  in  length. 
The  summer  school  was  now  announced  as  the 
College  of  Liberal  Arts.  I  notice  in  the  list  of 
subjects  taught:  Old  French,  Scandinavian  lan- 
guages and  literature,  Sanskrit,  Zend  and  Gothic, 
Hebrew  and  Semitic  languages,  and  philology.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  of  these  classes  were 
overcrowded  with  students,  but  those  in  physical 
culture  and  arts  and  crafts  were  very  popular. 
The  annual  exhibition  of  the  gymnastic  classes  has 
been  for  years  one  of  the  most  thronged  events  on 
the  program,  and  in  anticipation  the  Amphi- 
theater is  filled  long  in  advance  of  the  hour  for 
beginning  the  exercises. 

Among  the  lecturers  of  this  season  were  Mrs. 
Alden,  " Pansy,"  who  read  a  new  story,  The  Hall 
in  the  Grove;  Dr.  William  R.  Harper,  Dr.  Frank 
W.  Gunsaulus,  Dr.  Joseph  Cook,  Dr.  Talmage, 
Dr.  Hale,  General  Russell  A.  Alger,  and  George 
W.  Bain.  Dr.  Phillips  Brooks,  giant  in  body  and 
in  soul,  preached  one  of  his  sermons,  sweeping 


236     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

in  swift  utterances  like  a  tidal  wave.  One  hardly 
dared  draw  a  breath  for  fear  of  losing  his  mighty 
periods.  Bishop  William  Taylor  of  Africa,  was 
also  present,  and  thrilled  his  hearers,  yet  in  a  calm, 
quiet  manner,  absolutely  free  from  any  oratorical 
display.  There  was  a  charm  in  his  address  and 
the  most  critical  hearers  felt  it,  yet  could  not 
analyze  it.  I  met,  not  at  Chautauqua  but  else- 
where, a  lawyer  who  admitted  that  he  rarely  at- 
tended church  because  he  could  not  endure  the 
dull  sermons;  but  after  listening  to  Bishop  Taylor, 
said  that  if  he  could  hear  that  man  he  would  go  to 
church  twice,  even  three  times,  on  a  Sunday.  And 
yet  in  all  his  discourse  there  was  not  a  rhetorical 
sentence  nor  a  rounded  period. 

Mr.  Leon  H.  Vincent  was  again  at  Chautauqua, 
with  his  literary  lectures.  Either  during  this 
season  or  the  one  when  he  came  next — for  he  was 
generally  present  every  alternate  year — it  became 
necessary  to  move  Leon  Vincent's  lectures  from 
the  Hall  of  Philosophy  to  the  Amphitheater,  on 
account  of  the  number  who  were  eager  to  hear 
them.  Among  those  who  gave  readings  were  Mr. 
Charles  F.  Underbill  of  New  York,  Mr.  George 
Riddle,  and  Professor  R.  L.  Cumnock. 

The  Methodists,  both  of  the  North  and  the 
South,  have  always  formed  a  large  element  in  the 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  LEG  237 

Chautauqua  constituency,  partly  because  of  their 
number  throughout  the  continent,  but  also  because 
both  the  Founders  of  the  Assembly  were  members 
of  that  church.  This  year,  1888,  the  Methodist 
House  was  opened,  in  the  center  of  the  ground, 
and  at  once  became  the  social  rallying  place  of  the 
denomination.  Its  chapel,  connected  with  the 
House,  was  built  afterward  by  the  all-year  resi- 
dents at  Chautauqua  as  the  home  of  the  com- 
munity church,  which  is  open  to  all  and  attended 
by  all,  the  only  church  having  a  resident  pastor 
and  holding  services  through  the  year,  nominally 
under  the  Methodist  system,  but  practically 
undenominational. 

In  May,  1888,  Dr.  John  H.  Vincent,  after  twenty 
years  in  charge  of  the  Sunday  School  work  as 
Secretary  and  Editor,  was  elected  and  conse- 
crated a  Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  For  some  years  his  episcopal  residence 
was  at  Buffalo,  within  easy  distance  of  Chautau- 
qua, but  his  new  duties  required  him  to  travel 
even  more  widely  than  before,  and  he  needed  an 
assistant  to  care  for  the  work  of  the  Assembly. 
Mr.  George  E.  Vincent,  able  son  of  distinguished 
father,  was  this  year  appointed  Vice-Principal  of 
Instruction,  and  assumed  a  closer  supervision  of 
the  program  of  Chautauqua. 


238      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

In  this  year,  also,  Dr.  William  Rainey  Harper 
was  made  Principal  of  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts, 
all  the  departments  of  the  Summer  School  being 
under  his  direction.  Another  name  appears  on 
the  record  of  1888,  the  name  of  Alonzo  A.  Stagg, 
haloed  in  the  estimate  of  young  Chautauqua  with 
a  glory  even  surpassing  that  of  the  two  Founders. 
For  Stagg,  just  graduated  from  Yale,  could  curve 
a  baseball  more  marvelously  than  any  other  man 
in  America.  He  was  one  of  the  instructors  in  the 
gymnasium,  and  organized  a  team  that  played 
with  most  of  the  baseball  clubs  for  miles  around 
Chautauqua,  almost  invariably  winning  the  game. 
It  was  said  that  the  athletic  field  rivaled  the 
Amphitheater  in  its  crowds  when  Stagg  played. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A  NEW  LEAF  IN   LUKE'S  GOSPEL 
(1889-1892) 

THE  Assembly  of  1889  opened  on  July  3d  and 
continued  fifty-five  days,  to  August  26th.  Several 
new  buildings  had  arisen  since  the  last  session.  One 
was  the  Anne  M.  Kellogg  Memorial  Hall,  built  by 
Mr.  James  H.  Kellogg  of  Rochester,  New  York,  in 
honor  of  his  mother.  In  it  were  rooms  for  kinder- 
garten, clay  modeling,  china  painting,  and  a 
meeting  place  for  the  Chautauqua  W.  C.  T.  U. 
It  stood  originally  on  the  site  of  the  present  Colon- 
nade Building,  the  business  block,  and  was  moved 
to  its  present  location  to  make  room  for  that  build- 
ing. Mr.  Kellogg  was  an  active  worker  in  the 
Sunday  School  movement  and  from  the  beginning 
a  regular  visitor  at  Chautauqua.  Another  build- 
ing of  this  year  was  the  one  formerly  known  as  the 
Administration  Office,  on  Clark  Avenue  in  front 
of  the  book-store  and  the  old  Museum,  now  the 
Information  Bureau  and  the  School  of  Expression. 
When  the  offices  of  the  Institution  were  removed 

239 


240     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

to  the  Colonnade,  the  old  Administration  Building 
was  given  up  to  business,  and  it  is  now  known  as  a 
lunch-room.  The  School  of  Physical  Culture, 
under  Dr.  W.  G.  Anderson,  had  grown  to  such  an 
extent  that  a  new  gymnasium  had  become  a  neces- 
sity, and  one  had  been  erected  on  the  lake-front. 
In  the  newer  part  of  the  grounds  many  private 
cottages  arose,  of  more  tasteful  architecture  than 
the  older  houses. 

A  notable  event  of  this  season  was  the  visit  of 
former  President  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  of  Ohio. 
Among  the  lecturers  of  1889  we  find  the  name  of 
Mr.  Donald  G.  Mitchell,  whose  Reveries  of  a 
Bachelor  and  Dream-Life,  published  under  the 
pseudonym  of  Ik  Marvel,  are  recognized  classics 
in  American  literature.  Other  eminent  men  on 
the  platform  were  Professor  Hjalmar  H.  Boyesen 
of  Columbia  University,  Professor  J.  P.  Mahaffy 
of  Dublin  University,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  Dr. 
Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  Dr.  Washington  Gladden, 
Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows,  Professor  Frederick 
Starr,  who  could  make  anthropology  interesting 
to  those  who  had  never  studied  it,  Professor  Her- 
bert B.  Adams,  and  Corporal  Tanner,  the  U.  S. 
Commissioner  of  Pensions,  a  veteran  who  walked 
on  two  cork  legs,  but  was  able  to  stand  up  and  give 
a  heart-warming  address  to  the  old  soldiers.  Dr. 


A  NEW  LEAF  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  241 

W.  R.  Harper,  who  was  teaching  in  the  School 
of  Theology,  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  one  of 
the  great  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  delivered  a  sermon  on  one  of  the  Sundays. 
The  South  sent  us  an  able  lecturer  in  Richard 
Malcolm  Johnson.  The  orator  on  Recognition 
Day,  of  the  Class  of  '89,  was  Dr.  David  Swing  of 
Chicago,  who  spoke  on  "The  Beautiful  and  the 
Useful."  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell  gave  some 
lectures,  abundant  in  their  illustrative  stories. 

I  think  that  this  was  the  year,  but  am  not  cer- 
tain, when  Dr.  Conwell  preached  one  Sunday  in  the 
Amphitheater  a  sermon  of  remarkable  originality, 
listened  to  with  the  closest  attention  by  his  hearers, 
because  he  kept  them  guessing  as  to  his  subject 
until  he  was  more  than  half-way  through.  He 
said  in  opening,  "I  will  give  my  text  at  the  end  of 
the  sermon,  if  I  don't  forget  it;  but  I  will  tell  you 
my  subject.  I  am  going  to  speak  of  a  man  whom 
our  Lord  called  the  Model  Church  Member." 
We  all  began  wondering  who  that  man  was,  but 
nobody  could  recall  him.  He  said  that  this  model 
man  lived  among  the  mountains,  and  spoke  of  the 
influence  of  surroundings  upon  character;  then 
that  where  he  lived  there  were  two  churches,  one 
large,  the  other  small,  one  aristocratic  and  popular, 

16 


242      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  other  of  the  lower  classes,  despised;  and  that 
this  man  was  a  member  of  the  church  looked  down 
upon;  but  these  facts  gave  us  no  hint  as  to  the 
model  man's  identity.  He  puzzled  us  once  more 
by  saying  that  this  was  a  business  man  who  had 
good  credit,  and  we  were  still  in  the  fog; — when 
did  Jesus  ever  talk  about  credit?  Then  he  told 
in  graphic  manner,  making  it  seem  as  if  it  had 
happened  the  day  before,  the  story  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,  and  the  problem  was  solved.  But  he 
astonished  us  again  by  saying,  "There  was  one 
part  of  this  story  which  for  some  reason  St.  Luke 
left  out  of  his  gospel,  and  I  am  going  to  tell  it 
now"; — and  of  course  everybody  was  eager  to 
hear  a  brand-new  Bible  story  not  found  in  the 
Scriptures.  He  told  that  this  man  who  had  been 
robbed  and  beaten  on  the  Jericho  road,  after 
his  recovery  at  the  inn,  went  home  to  Jerusalem, 
met  his  family,  and  then  took  his  two  boys  up  to 
the  Temple  to  return  thanks  for  his  restoration. 
The  service  in  all  its  splendor  was  described.  One 
boy  said,  "Father,  see  that  priest  waving  a  censer! 
What  a  good  man  he  must  be!"  But  the  man 
said,  "My  boy,  don't  look  at  that  hypocrite! 
That  is  the  very  priest  who  left  me  to  die  beside  the 
road!"  After  a  few  minutes,  the  younger  boy 
said,  "See  that  Levite  blowing  a  trumpet!  He 


A  NEW  LEAF  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  243 

looks  like  a  good  man,  doesn't  he?"  And  the 
father  said,  "My  boys,  that  is  the  very  Levite  that 
passed  me  by  when  I  was  lying  wounded !  Let  us 
go  away  from  this  place."  And  then  one  of  the 
boys  said,  "Let  us  find  the  church  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,  and  worship  there."  And  Dr.  Con- 
well  added,  "My  text  is,  'Go  thou  and  do  like- 
wise!"1 No  one  who  heard  that  sermon,  so  full 
of  surprises,  could  ever  forget  it. 

The  elocutionary  readers  who  entertained  us 
during  that  season  were  Professor  Cumnock, 
A.  P.  Burbank,  George  Riddle,  George  W.  Cable, 
reading  his  own  stories,  and  Mr.  Leland  Powers 
of  Boston,  with  his  rendering  of  David  Copper- 
field,  several  other  stories,  and  a  play  or  two. 
Without  the  aid  of  costume  or  "making  up,"  it 
was  wonderful  how  he  could  change  facial  expres- 
sion, and  voice,  and  manner  instantaneously  with 
his  successive  characters.  We  saw  Mr.  Micawber 
transformed  in  an  instant  into  Uriah  Keep.  From 
1889,  Mr.  Powers  was  a  frequent  visitor,  and  his 
rendering  of  novels  and  plays  enraptured  the 
throngs  in  the  Amphitheater.  For  many  seasons 
he  was  wont  to  appear  on  alternate  years.  On 
Old  First  Night,  when  the  call  was  made  for  those 
present  on  the  successive  years,  while  the  regulars 
stood  up  and  remained  standing  as  each  year  was 


244      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

named,  it  was  interesting  to  watch  the  down-sit- 
tings and  uprisings  of  Leland  Powers.  But  we 
shall  hear  his  voice  no  more,  for  even  while  we 
are  writing  the  news  of  his  death  comes  to  us. 

In  this  year,  1889,  the  musical  classes  were  or- 
ganized as  the  Chautauqua  School  of  Music,  with 
instructors  in  all  departments.  Inasmuch  as  all 
people  do  not  enjoy  the  sound  of  a  piano,  practic 
ing  all  day  scales  and  exercises,  a  place  was  found 
in  the  rear  of  the  grounds  for  a  village  of  small 
cottages,  some  might  call  them  ''huts,"  each 
housing  a  piano  for  lessons  and  practice.  I  am 
told  that  forty-eight  pianos  may  be  heard  there 
all  sending  out  music  at  once,  and  each  a  different 
tune. 

The  year  1889  brought  another  man  to  Chau- 
tauqua who  was  well-beloved  and  will  be  long 
remembered,  the  pianist  and  teacher,  William  H. 
Sherwood,  who  showed  himself  a  true  Chautauquan 
by  his  willing,  helpful  spirit,  no  less  than  by  his 
power  on  the  piano.  When  death  stilled  those 
wondrous  fingers,  Mr.  Sherwood's  memory  was 
honored  by  the  Sherwood  Memorial  Studios,  dedi- 
cated in  1912. 

When  we  realize  that  Chautauqua  is  a  city  of 
frame-buildings,  packed  closely  together  on  nar- 
row streets,  in  the  early  years  having  exceedingly 


A  NEW  LEAF  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  245 

inadequate  protection  against  fires,  we  almost 
wonder  that  it  has  never  been  overswept  by  a 
conflagration.  From  time  to  time  there  have  been 
fires,  most  of  them  a  benefit  in  clearing  away  old 
shacks  of  the  camp-meeting  strata;  and  one  took 
place  on  a  night  during  the  season  of  1889.  It 
swept  away  a  row  of  small  houses  along  the  south- 
western border  of  Miller  Park,  toward  the  Land 
of  Palestine.  Their  site  was  kept  unoccupied, 
leaving  a  clear  view  of  the  lake,  except  on  one 
corner  where  a  handsome  building  was  erected, 
the  Arcade.  While  the  main  entrance  to  the 
grounds  was  at  the  Pier,  this  was  a  prosperous 
place  of  business,  but  after  the  back  door  became 
the  front  door,  through  the  coming  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua  Traction  Company,  giving  railroad  connec- 
tion with  the  outside  world,  the  business  center  of 
Chautauqua  shifted  to  streets  up  the  hill. 

The  year  1890  came,  bringing  the  seventeenth 
session  of  the  Assembly.  This  was  the  year  when 
the  Presbyterian  House  was  opened,  and  also  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.  building,  erected  by  Flood  and  Vincent, 
for  Mr.  George  E.  Vincent  was  now  a  partner  with 
Dr.  Flood  in  publishing  The  Chautauquan  Magazine 
and  the  books  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  Subsequently 
the  business  of  publication  was  assumed  by  the 
Institution,  and  the  building  has  been  for  many 


246      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

years  the  book-store,  with  rooms  on  the  floor  above 
for  classes  in  the  School  of  Expression. 

An  announcement  in  the  program  of  the  College 
of  Liberal  Arts  was  that  a  School  of  Journal- 
ism would  be  conducted  by  Hamilton  Wright 
Mabie,  essayist,  and  one  of  the  editors  of  The  Out- 
look. Leon  H.  Vincent  gave  another  course  of 
literary  lectures.  Dr.  Henry  L.  Wayland  of 
Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  speakers.  John 
Habberton,  author  of  the  "best  seller"  some  years 
before,  Helen's  Babies •,  lectured,  read,  joined  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.  Class  of  1894,  and  was  made  its  Presi- 
dent. Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark,  father  of  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Society,  came  and  was  greeted  by 
a  host  of  young  Endeavorers.  Dr.  Alexander 
McKenzie  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  preached  a  great 
sermon.  Mr.  Robert  J.  Burdette,  at  that  time  an 
editor,  but  afterwards  a  famous  Baptist  preacher, 
gave  one  of  his  wisely- witty  lectures.  The  Hon. 
John  Jay,  worthy  son  of  one  of  New  York's  most 
distinguished  families,  gave  an  address.  Dr. 
Fairbairn  of  Oxford  was  again  among  us,  with  his 
deep  lectures,  yet  clear  as  the  waters  of  Lake 
Tahoe.  The  orator  on  Recognition  Day  was 
Mrs.  Alice  Freeman  Palmer,  whose  term  as  Presi- 
dent made  Wellesley  great.  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson 
Page  gave  readings  from  his  own  stories  of  south- 


A  NEW  LEAF  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  247 

ern  life  before  the  Civil  War.  A  young  man 
appeared  on  the  platform  for  the  first  time,  but 
not  the  last,  who  was  destined  to  stand  forth  in  a 
few  years  as  one  of  the  foremost  of  Americans. 
This  was  Theodore  Roosevelt,  whose  lectures  at 
Chautauqua  were  later  expanded  into  the  volumes 
on  The  Winning  of  the  West.  Colonel  Thomas 
Wentworth  Higginson,  soldier  and  historian,  also 
gave  lectures. 

At  the  opening  of  the  season  in  1891,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Chautauqua  Circle  counted  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand.  Nine  classes  had  been 
graduated,  another  large  class  was  to  receive  its 
diplomas  during  that  summer,  and  there  were 
three  undergraduate  classes  each  of  nearly  twenty 
thousand  members,  with  another  class  as  large  in 
prospect.  Only  a  small  section  of  each  class  could 
be  present  at  Chautauqua,  the  vast  majority  of 
its  members  being  far  away,  some  in  distant  lands. 
But  among  those  who  came  to  the  Assembly,  the 
social  spirit  was  strong.  They  loved  to  meet  each 
other,  held  social  reunions  and  business  meetings 
constantly.  Each  of  the  four  oldest  classes,  from 
'82  to  '85,  had  its  own  building  as  headquarters, 
but  all  the  later  classes  were  homeless  and  in  need 
of  homes.  It  was  a  great  boon  to  these  classes 
when  at  last,  in  1891,  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  Alumni  Hall 


248      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

was  completed  and  opened.  Its  eight  classrooms 
were  distributed  by  lot  and  furnished  by  the  gifts 
of  the  members.  As  new  classes  were  organized 
year  after  year,  they  were  welcomed  by  the 
classes  already  occupying  the  rooms.  It  was  not 
many  years  before  each  room  became  the  home  of 
two  classes,  then  after  eight  years  more  of  three 
classes,  meeting  on  different  days,  but  united  in 
the  general  reception  on  the  evening  before  the 
Recognition  Day.  Beside  the  eight  class-rooms 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  Alumni  Building  there 
is  a  large  hall  which  is  used  before  the  Recognition 
Day  by  the  graduating  class,  and  during  the  rest 
of  the  season  by  the  new  entering  class.  In  1916, 
after  the  death  of  Miss  Kate  F.  Kimball,  Secretary 
of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  this  hall  was  named  "The  Kim- 
ball  Room."  The  Alumni  Building  with  its  wide 
porches  became  at  Chautauqua  a  social  center  for 
the  members  of  the  Circle  and  many  have  been  the 
friendships  formed  there.  On  this  season  of  1891 
the  United  Presbyterian  House  was  opened. 

The  section  of  the  Summer  Schools  formerly 
known  as  The  Teachers'  Retreat,  but  now  begin- 
ning to  be  called  "The  School  of  Pedagogy,"  was 
this  year  (1891)  under  the  direction  of  that  master- 
teacher  and  inspiring  leader,  Colonel  Francis  W. 
Parker  of  Chicago.  He  gave  several  lectures  on 


A  NEW  LEAF  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  249 

the  principles  of  teaching,  but  many  besides  the 
teachers  listened  to  them  with  equal  interest  and 
profit.  One  of  these  lectures  was  entitled,  "The 
Artisan  and  the  Artist";  the  artisan  representing 
those  in  every  vocation  of  life  who  do  their  work 
by  rule;  the  artist,  those  who  pay  little  attention 
to  regulations,  but  teach,  or  preach,  or  design 
buildings,  or  paint  pictures  out  of  their  hearts; 
and  these  are  the  Pestalozzis,  the  Michael  Angelos, 
the  Beechers  of  their  several  professions.  We  had 
a  course  of  delightful  essay-lectures  in  the  Hall  of 
Philosophy  by  Miss  Agnes  Repplier.  The  Rabbi 
of  the  Temple  Emanuel  in  New  York,  Dr.  Gustave 
Gottheil,  gave  some  enlightening  lectures  upon  the 
principles  of  the  Jewish  faith.  At  that  time  a 
prominent  Roman  Catholic  priest,  the  Rev. 
Edward  McGlynn,  was  in  rebellion  against  the 
hierarchy  of  his  church,  and  maintaining  a  vigor- 
ous controversy  in  behalf  of  religious  freedom. 
He  had  been  dismissed  from  one  of  the  largest 
churches  in  New  York,  and  with  voice  and  pen 
was  denouncing  the  Pope,  Cardinals,  and  Bishops. 
Father  McGlynn  came  to  Chautauqua  and  de- 
livered a  powerful  address  in  the  Amphitheater, 
pouring  forth  a  torrent  of  language,  shot  as  from  a 
rapid-firing  cannon.  While  at  Chautauqua  he 
was  entertained  at  a  dinner  in  one  of  the  cottages 


250      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

with  a  number  of  invited  guests.  From  the  mo- 
ment of  meeting  at  the  table,  he  began  to  talk  in 
his  forceful  manner,  never  stopping  to  take  breath. 
Dr.  Buckley  was  present  and  several  times  opened 
his  mouth  but  found  no  chance  to  interject  a  word, 
which  was  an  unusual  state  of  affairs  for  one  who 
generally  led  the  conversation. 

Another  speaker  who  was  heard  with  interest 
was  Jacob  A.  Riis,  with  his  illustrated  lecture  on 
" How  the  Other  Half  Lives."  Mr.  Riis  was  only 
a  newspaper  reporter,  not  occupying  an  editorial 
chair,  but  Theodore  Roosevelt  spoke  of  him  as 
"New  York's  most  useful  citizen."  The  cause  of 
woman  suffrage  and  reform  had  a  splendid  showing 
this  season,  for  Frances  E.  Willard,  Anna  Howard 
Shaw,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  and  Mary  A.  Livermore, 
all  spoke  upon  the  Amphitheater  platform.  A 
visitor  who  made  many  friends  was  Rev.  Dr. 
Percival,  headmaster  of  Rugby  School.  Julia 
Ward  Howe  gave  interesting  reminiscences  of 
Longfellow,  Emerson,  and  other  literary  lights 
whom  she  had  known  intimately.  John  Fiske, 
one  of  America's  greatest  historians,  gave  a  course 
of  lectures  on  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  this 
continent.  Another  historian  whom  we  heard 
was  John  Bach  McMaster,  whose  lectures  were 
like  a  series  of  dissolving  views,  picture  succeed- 


Post-Office  Building 


The  Business  and  Administration  Building 


A  NEW  LEAP  IN  LUKE'S  GOSPEL  251 

ing  picture,  each  showing  the  great  events  and 
the  great  men  of  their  period.  In  this  year  Dr. 
Horatio  R.  Palmer  assumed  charge  of  the  musical 
department,  and  for  the  first  time  waved  his  baton 
before  the  great  chorus  in  the  Amphitheater 
gallery. 

As  everybody  knows,  the  four  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  discovery  of  America  was  ob- 
served everywhere  in  1892.  Chautauqua  com- 
memorated it  in  lectures  on  Columbus  and  his 
fellow-voyagers,  and  by  a  pageant  presenting 
scenes  from  the  history.  The  Chautauqua  class 
graduating  that  year  was  named  the  Columbia 
Class,  and  as  its  members,  several  hundred  strong, 
marched  in  the  procession,  Chancellor  Vincent 
was  astonished  to  see  in  the  line  his  wife,  wearing 
the  graduating  badge  of  cardinal  ribbon.  She 
had  read  the  course  through  four  years  and  kept  it 
a  secret  from  him,  revealed  for  the  first  time  at 
that  Recognition  service.  The  address  on  that 
day  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus  on 
"The  Ideal  of  Culture." 

Among  the  chief  speakers  in  1892  we  find  the 
names  of  two  Presidents  of  Cornell  University, 
Dr.  Andrew  D.  White  and  Dr.  James  G.  Schur- 
man;  Dr.  J.  Monro  Gibson,  a  London  pastor  and 
one  of  the  Board  of  Counsel  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  was 


252      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

with  us ;  also  Ballington  Booth,  Henry  Watterson, 
the  journalist,  and  President  Merrill  E.  Gates  of 
Amherst  College.  At  this  session  also  the  Girls' 
Club  was  organized  and  conducted  by  Miss  Mary 
H.  Mather  of  Wilmington,  Del. 

In  the  announcements  of  this  year,  the  title  of 
Chautauqua  University  was  allowed  to  lapse, 
and  in  place  of  it  appeared  "The  Chautauqua 
System  of  Education." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA 
(1893-1896) 

WHEN  the  Chautauquans  gathered  for  the 
twentieth  Assembly  on  July  i,  1893,  they  found 
some  changes  had  taken  place.  The  old  Amphi- 
theater, which  had  faithfully  served  its  generation, 
but  had  fallen  into  decrepitude,  no  longer  lifted  its 
forest  of  wooden  pillars  over  the  ravine.  In  its 
place  stood  a  new  Amphitheater,  more  roomy  and 
far  more  suitable  to  the  needs  of  the  new  day. 
It  was  covered  by  a  trussed  roof  supported  by  steel 
columns  standing  around  the  building,  so  that 
from  every  seat  was  an  unobstructed  view  of  the 
platform.  The  choir-gallery  was  enlarged  to  pro- 
vide seats  for  five  hundred.  The  platform  was 
brought  further  into  the  hall,  making  room  for  an 
orchestra.  The  seats  were  more  comfortable,  and 
could  now  hold  without  crowding  fifty-six  hundred 
people.  A  few  years  later,  the  old  organ  gave 
place  to  a  greater  and  better  one,  the  gift  of  the 
Massey  family  of  Toronto,  a  memorial  of  their 

253 


254      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

father,  the  late  Hart  A.  Massey,  one  of  the  early 
Trustees  of  the  Assembly.  Under  the  choir-loft 
and  on  either  side  of  the  organ,  rooms  were  ar- 
ranged for  offices  and  classes  in  the  Department 
of  Music. 

During  the  previous  season,  1892,  a  Men's  Club 
had  been  organized  and  had  found  temporary 
quarters.  It  now  possessed  a  home  on  the  shore 
of  the  Lake,  beside  Palestine  Park.  In  its  rooms 
were  games  of  various  sorts,  cards,  however,  being 
still  under  the  ban  at  Chautauqua.  x  Newspapers 
and  periodicals,  shower-baths,  and  an  out-of-door 
parlor  on  the  roof,  very  pleasant  except  on  the 
days  when  the  lake  flies  invaded  it.  The  Men's 
Club  building  had  formerly  been  the  power  house 
of  the  electrical  plant,  but  one  who  had  known  it  of 

1  Prom  the  Handbook  of  Information  published  by  the  Chau- 
tauqua Institution  (1918)  we  give  the  following  extract.  "The 
Chautauqua  tradition  which  taboos  card  playing  and  social 
dancing,  and  the  rule  which  forbids  the  sale  or  importation  of 
alcoholic  beverages,  disclose  the  influence  which  dominated  the 
early  life  of  the  Assembly.  As  to  card  playing  and  dancing,  the 
tradition  is  preserved  not  because  all  agree  in  condemning  these 
things  in  themselves,  but  because  they  are  deemed  unsuitable  to 
Chautauqua  conditions  and  even  hostile  to  its  life.  It  is  believed 
that  they  would  prove  divisive  and  distracting,  and  that  they 
suggest  a  very  different  type  of  society  from  that  which  Chau- 
tauqua seeks  to  set  up  for  a  few  summer  weeks.  Chautauqua, 
therefore,  disapproves  these  diversions  as  not  only  unnecessary, 
but  as  involving  disintegrating  influences.  The  fact  that  many 
who  indulge  in  these  amusements  at  home  express  gratification 
that  they  are  not  permitted  at  Chautauqua  is  significant." 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      255 

old  would  scarcely  recognize  it  as  reconstructed, 
enlarged,  and  decorated.  To  make  a  place  for  the 
dynamo  of  the  electric  system,  an  encroachment 
had  been  made  upon  Palestine  Park;  a  cave  had 
been  dug  under  Mount  Lebanon,  and  the  dynamo 
installed  within  its  walls.  The  age  of  King  Hiram 
of  Tyre,  who  cut  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  for  Solo- 
mon's Temple,  and  the  age  of  Edison,  inventor  of 
the  electric  light,  were  thus  brought  into  incon- 
gruous juxtaposition.  A  chimney  funnel  on  the 
summit  of  Mount  Lebanon,  it  must  be  confessed, 
seemed  out  of  place,  and  the  Valley  of  Coele- 
Syria,  between  Lebanon  and  Hermon,  was  entirely 
obliterated.  Bible  students  might  shake  then- 
heads  disapprovingly,  but  even  sacred  archaeology 
must  give  way  to  the  demands  of  civilization. 

An  improvement  less  obvious  to  the  eye,  but 
more  essential  to  health,  was  the  installation  of  a 
complete  sewer  system.  As  the  sewage  is  not  al- 
lowed to  taint  the  water  of  the  lake,  it  is  carried 
by  pipes  to  a  disposal  plant  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
ground  and  chemically  purified.  The  water  ren- 
dered as  clear  as  crystal  is  then  permitted  to  run 
into  the  lake,  while  the  sludge  is  pressed  by  ma- 
chinery into  cakes  used  as  fertilizer.  An  artesian 
well  on  high  ground  supplies  pure  water  in  abun- 
dance, with  taps  at  convenient  places  for  families. 


256     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Originally  the  water  in  use  came  from  wells. 
These  were  carefully  tested  by  scientific  experts, 
and  most  of  them  were  condemned,  but  a  few  were 
found  to  give  forth  pure  water  and  are  still  in  use, 
though  frequently  and  carefully  tested.  Near 
the  Men's  Club  is  a  spring  of  mineral  water  con- 
taining sulphur  and  iron.  It  has  the  approval  of 
chemists  and  physicians,  and  many  drink  it  for 
its  healthful  effect. 

One  who  looks  over  the  programs  of  Chautauqua 
through  successive  years  will  notice  the  number 
of  the  clubs  for  various  classes  and  ages.  Largest 
of  all  is  the  Woman's  Club,  of  which  Mrs.  Emily 
Huntington  Miller  was  the  first  President,  suc- 
ceeded by  Mrs.  B.  T.  Vincent,  and  carried  on  under 
her  leadership  for  many  years.  When  on  account 
of  failing  health  Mrs.  Vincent  felt  compelled  to 
resign  her  office,  her  place  was  taken  by  Mrs. 
Percy  V.  Pennybacker  of  Texas,  who  had  been 
President  of  the  General  Federation  of  Woman's 
Clubs  in  the  United  States.  This  Club  includes 
more  than  two  thousand  members,  and  its  daily 
meeting  in  the  Hall  of  Philosophy  brings  together 
a  throng,  often  too  large  for  the  building.  In  1918 
the  Club  purchased  a  cottage  fronting  on  the  lake, 
near  the  Hotel  Athenaeum,  as  a  headquarters,  a  place 
for  social  gatherings  and  rest  rooms  for  women. 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      257 

Besides  the  Women's  Clubs  and  the  Men's 
Club,  there  are  at  least  a  dozen  other  associations 
of  people  having  tastes  and  interests  bringing 
them  together.  We  will  name  the  most  important 
of  these  without  regard  to  their  chronological 
order. 

There  is  the  Athletic  Club  for  men  and  boys  over 
sixteen,  directing  the  organized  sports  and  pro- 
viding all  forms  of  out-of-door  recreation.  It  has 
a  club  house  on  the  lake  with  bowling  alleys  and 
boat  room,  shower  baths  and  lockers,  and  a  reading 
room. 

The  Golf  Club  has  a  nine-hole  course,  situated 
on  the  rising  ground  of  eighty  acres  opposite  the 
traction  station.  The  money  has  been  con- 
tributed for  a  Country  Club  House,  soon  to  be 
built  at  the  entrance.  The  donors,  it  is  under- 
stood, are  Mr.  Stephen  J.  Munger  of  Dallas,  Texas, 
one  of  the  Trustees,  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  Frank  B. 
Wilcox  of  St.  Petersburg,  Florida,  in  memory  of 
her  husband. 

Chautauquans  of  some  years'  standing  will  re- 
member the  old  croquet  ground,  where  now  stands 
the  Colonnade,  and  the  group  of  solemn  gray- 
beards  who  used  to  frequent  it  and  knock  the  balls 
through  the  big  arches  all  day.  No  matter  what 
popular  lecturer  was  speaking  in  the  Amphi- 
17 


258      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

theater,  the  passer-by  would  find  that  same  serious 
company.  I  used  to  pass  them  while  going  to  my 
home  and  coming  from  it  several  times  each  day. 
On  one  occasion  I  stopped  and  struck  up  an  ac- 
quaintance with  a  tall  old  gentleman  who  always 
wore  a  high  hat  and  a  long  double-breasted  coat. 
I  learned  that  he  was  the  President  of  a  Bank 
among  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that 
he  had  come  to  Chautauqua  suffering  from  nervous 
prostration,  making  him  utterly  unable  to  do 
business  and  scarcely  desiring  to  live.  He  passed 
the  croquet  court,  sat  down,  and  was  invited  to 
play.  He  began  and  found  himself,  for  the  first 
time  in  many  months,  actually  interested  in  doing 
something.  He  began  to  enjoy  his  meals  and  to 
sleep  at  night.  All  that  summer  he  played 
croquet,  never  listening  to  a  lecture,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  season  went  home  almost  well.  From 
that  time  croquet  became  more  than  his  recreation, 
almost  his  business.  He  told  me  that  there  were 
others  like  himself  who  found  health  and  a  new 
enjoyment  of  life  in  the  game.  When  the  ground 
was  needed  for  the  new  business  block,  the  courts 
were  removed  to  the  ravine  on  the  other  side  of 
the  grounds,  near  the  gymnasium.  About  that 
time  croquet  was  developed  into  a  more  scientific 
game,  a  sort  of  billiardized  croquet,  with  walls 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      259 

from  which  a  ball  would  rebound,  and  arches  a 
quarter  of  an  inch — or  is  it  only  an  eighth  of  an 
inch? — wider  than  the  ball.  To  find  a  name  for 
the  new  game  they  struck  off  the  first  and  last 
letters,  so  that  croquet  became  Roque,  and  in  due 
time  the  Roque  Club  arose,  with  a  group  of  players 
who  live  and  breathe  and  have  their  being  for 
this  game.  People  come  from  far,  and  I  am  told, 
to  attend  its  tournaments  at  every  season. 

There  is  also  a  Quoit  Club  meeting  on  the 
ground  near  Higgins  Hall,  beside  the  road  leading 
up  College  Hill. 

The  Young  Woman's  Club  is  for  those  over  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  while  the  Girl's  Club  has  its 
membership  between  eight  and  fifteen,  meets  in 
its  own  Club  House  near  the  roque  courts,  and  is 
enthusiastically  sought  by  those  no  longer  little 
girls,  yet  not  quite  young  women. 

Wherever  one  walks  around  Chautauqua  he  is 
sure  to  see  plenty  of  boys  in  blue  sweaters  bearing 
on  their  bosoms  the  monogram  in  big  letters 
C.  B.  C.,  initials  of  the  Chautauqua  Boys'  Club. 
They  too  have  their  headquarters  near  the  athletic 
field  and  find  something  doing  there  all  day  long. 

For  the  little  ones,  there  is  the  kindergarten  at 
Kellogg  Hall,  and  out  of  doors  beside  it  the  play- 
ground, where  the  tots  make  cities  out  of  sand  and 


26o     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

find  other  pleasures.  And  we  must  not  forget 
the  Children's  Paradise,  the  completely  equipped 
playground  in  the  ravine  at  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  grounds.  I  remember  hearing  Jacob  A. 
Riis,  the  father  of  the  city  playgrounds,  say  in  one 
of  his  lectures:  "They  tell  me  that  the  boys  play 
ball  in  the  streets  of  New  York  and  break  windows 
when  the  ball  goes  out  of  the  way.  Good !  I  hope 
they  will  break  more  windows  until  the  city  fixes 
up  playgrounds  for  them ! "  Jacob  Riis  lived  long 
enough  to  see  at  Chautauqua  one  of  the  finest 
playgrounds,  and  to  find  in  it  one  of  the  happiest 
crowds  of  children  on  the  continent.  One  blessing 
for  tired  mothers  at  Chautauqua  is  that  their 
children  are  in  safekeeping.  They  may  be  turned 
loose,  for  they  can't  get  outside  the  fence,  and  in 
the  clubs  and  playgrounds  they  are  under  the 
wisest  and  most  friendly  care. 

There  are  Modern  Language  Clubs  in  French 
and  Spanish,  with  conversations,  recitations,  and 
songs  in  these  languages.  "No  English  Spoken 
Here,"  might  be  written  over  their  doors,  although 
nearly  all  their  members  elsewhere  do  their  talk- 
ing in  the  American  patois.  There  was  a  German 
Club,  but  it  was  suspended  during  the  war,  when 
German  was  an  unpopular  language  and  has  not 
yet  been  reestablished. 


Sherwood  Memorial  Studios 


Traction  Station 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      261 

The  Music  Club  holds  gatherings,  in  the  Sher- 
wood Music  Studios  on  College  Hill. 

There  is  a  Press  Club,  composed  of  men  and 
women  who  write  books  and  articles  for  pub- 
lication. They  hold  social  receptions  for  ac- 
quaintance among  wielders  of  the  quill ;  perhaps  it 
would  be  more  accurate,  though  less  classic,  to 
say,  "pounders  of  the  typewriter."  Several  times 
each  season  they  have  an  "Author's  Night,"  when 
well-known  writers,  some  of  them  famous,  read 
their  own  productions. 

There  is  a  Lawyers'  Club,  a  Masonic  Club,  and 
a  Grange  Club,  the  latter  having  its  own  building 
of  Greek  architecture;  also  a  College  Fraternity 
Club  of  the  wearers  of  sundry  pins  and  keys. 

The  Bird  and  Tree  Club  has  a  large  and  repre- 
sentative membership  of  those  interested  in  identi- 
fying and  protecting  the  fauna,  flora,  and  bird  life 
of  Chautauqua  and  its  vicinity.  On  the  Overlook, 
beyond  the  Athletic  Field,  they  have  established 
a  herbarium  for  the  preservation  of  the  different 
forms  of  trees  found  on  the  ground. 

We  must  group  together,  begging  pardon  of  the 
members,  many  other  organizations,  such  as  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  All  Americans  know,  some  of  them 
to  their  cost,  what  those  four  letters  stand  for;  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.,  which  has  opened  a  Hospitality 


262      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

House  of  Welcome  and  Rest  on  Pratt  Avenue; 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  com- 
ing from  every  part  of  the  land  for  gatherings  at 
Chautauqua ;  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  whose 
secrets  none  but  the  initiated  know;  the  College 
Men's  Club,  the  College  Women's  Club,  the  Minis- 
ters' Club,  and  there  used  to  be,  perhaps  is  still, 
an  Octogenarians'  Club,  whose  members  must 
swear  to  eighty  years  of  life.  The  King's  Daugh- 
ters and  King's  Sons  meet  weekly  at  the  Pier 
Buildings,  and  the  Chautauqua  Education  Coun- 
cil, made  up  of  Superintendents,  principals  and 
teachers,  holds  two  regular  sessions  each  week. 
If  there  are  any  more  clubs,  and  their  titles  are 
sent  to  the  author  of  this  book,  they  will  appear 
in  the  new  edition,  after  the  first  hundred  thou- 
sand copies  are  disposed  of. 

But  we  are  forgetting  the  title  of  this  chapter 
and  must  name  some  of  those  who  helped  to  make 
Chautauqua  successful  during  the  quadrennium 
between  '92  and  '96.  In  1893  Henry  Drummond 
repeated  at  Chautauqua  his  Lowell  lectures  in 
Boston  on  "The  Ascent  of  Man."  There  were 
still  some  old-fashioned  "kiver  to  kiver"  be- 
lievers in  the  verbal  inspiration  of  the  Bible  who 
were  alarmed  to  find  an  eminent  Christian  leader 
accept  so  fully  the  conclusions  of  science;  but  the 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      263 

overwhelming  sentiment  of  Chautauqua  was  of 
rejoicing  at  his  harmonizing  the  most  evangelical 
religion  with  the  most  advanced  scholarship.  Jane 
Addams  gave  some  lectures  on  modern  problems 
of  family  and  social  life;  Edward  Eggleston,  long 
before  a  leader  of  the  Sunday  School  Army,  by 
turns  preacher,  story-writer  (his  Hoosier  School- 
Master  marked  an  epoch  in  American  literature, 
say  the  critics)  and  historian,  was  with  us  once 
more  after  many  years  of  absence.  He  said  in  an 
introduction,  "I  am  glad  to  be  again  among  Sun- 
day School  workers,  real  crazy  people,  for  I  believe 
that  nobody  can  be  a  first-class  Sunday  School 
man  unless  he  has  a  little  crack  in  his  head  on  that 
subject."  Frank  G.  Carpenter,  who  had  traveled 
in  almost  every  land  of  earth,  told  us  stories  of  his 
experiences  and  observations;  Kate  Douglas  Wig- 
gin  read  charmingly  some  of  her  own  stories; 
Mr.  John  Temple  Graves  spoke  in  his  fine  rounded 
periods  on  some  topics  of  the  time;  Hon.  Roswell 
G.  Horr  of  Michigan  instructed  while  he  enter- 
tained us.  Dr.  A.  J.  Palmer,  who  had  thrilled  the 
old  soldiers  with  his  "Company  D,"  now  gave 
another  lecture  to  them  on  "Comrades."  Be- 
sides these  we  heard  on  the  platform  Dr.  Philip 
S.  Moxom,  Professor  George  H.  Palmer  of  Har- 
vard, and  his  wife,  Alice  Freeman  Palmer;  Presi- 


264      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

dent  Harper,  Dr.  Von  Hoist;  Dr.  Con  well,  and 
Dr.  Joseph  Cook,  returning  to  the  platform  with 
restored  vigor  after  some  years  of  nervous  break- 
down. Miss  Willard  was  with  us  again,  and  with 
her  Lady  Henry  Somerset  of  England,  the  head  of 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  that  land. 

In  1894  the  Department  of  Elocution  took  a 
new  title,  "The  School  of  Expression,"  and  en- 
larged its  sphere  under  Professor  S.  H.  Clark  of 
the  University  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  Emily  M. 
Bishop.  The  program  of  the  years  shows  the 
school  of  Political  Science  to  be  remarkably  strong, 
with  such  teachers  as  Dr.  Herman  Von  Hoist, 
Herbert  B.  Adams  of  Johns  Hopkins,  and  another 
Dr.  Adams  of  Yale.  Professor  Graham  Taylor 
of  Chicago  spoke  on  social  questions,  capital  and 
labor.  Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  already  rising 
to  fame,  was  again  on  the  platform.  General 
James  A.  Beaver,  ex-governor  of  Pennsylvania; 
Professor  Richard  G.  Moulton;  Hon.  Carroll  D. 
Wright,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor; 
Mr.  Anthony  Comstock,  and  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale, 
Chautauqua's  strong  friend,  were  some  of  the 
speakers.  Dr.  Hale,  always  original  in  his 
methods,  said  that  he  had  only  thirty  minutes  to 
speak  on  '  'Poverty  and  Pauperism. ' '  He  began  by 
saying,  "I  will  stand  on  one  side  of  this  desk  and 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA       265 

speak  fifteen  minutes  on  poverty."  He  showed 
in  seven  points  that  every  one  of  us  belonged  to 
the  class  named  "poverty"  and  each  one  should 
help  the  others.  Then  he  walked  over  to  the  other 
side  and  gave  seven  points  on  "pauperism,"  for 
which  there  were  reasons  but  no  excuses.  Poverty 
was  a  blessing;  most  of  the  world's  greatest  bene- 
factors have  been  poor  men;  but  pauperism  is  an 
unmitigated  evil  and  should  be  stamped  out  of  ex- 
istence. General  O.  O.  Howard,  U.  S.  A.,  was  again 
on  the  platform  in  1894,  also  President  William 
H.  Crawford  of  Allegheny  College,  whose  lecture 
on  ' '  Savonarola ' '  made  a  deep  impression.  There 
was  great  interest  to  see  and  hear  Miss  Helen 
Keller,  the  wonderful  girl,  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb, 
who  had  learned  to  speak  without  hearing  a  voice, 
and  had  been  graduated  from  Radcliffe  College 
of  Harvard  University  with  the  highest  honor. 
Another  of  the  lecturers  was  Mr.  Jahu  DeWitt 
Miller,  whose  private  talk  was  as  good  as  his  public 
lectures,  which  is  high  praise.  The  Recognition 
Day  address  this  year  was  by  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale,  on 
"The  Education  of  a  Prince,"  the  prince  being  the 
poorest  child  living  in  America.  It  is  worth  re- 
membering that  a  photograph  of  the  procession 
on  that  day  shows  at  the  head  of  the  flower-girl 
division — which  now  included  boys,  although  the 


266      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

girls  were  still  in  the  majority — two  mites  of 
children,  one  Paul  Vincent  Harper,  son  of  Presi- 
dent Harper,  the  other  Isabel  Vincent,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Professor  George  E.  Vincent.  Those  same 
children  are  now  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paul  Vincent 
Harper  of  Chicago,  still  walking  together. 

In  1895,  the  season  extended  through  fifty-nine 
days,  from  June  29th  to  August  26th.  Two  new 
buildings,  besides  many  new  cottages,  were  now 
upon  the  ground.  One  was  the  Baptist  head- 
quarters on  Clark  Street,  the  other  Higgins  Hall 
on  College  Hill,  built  by  the  gift  of  Governor  Hig- 
gins of  New  York  State.  In  the  Schools  during 
this  season  strong  emphasis  was  laid  on  the  De- 
partment of  English,  with  such  instructors  as 
Professor  C.  T.  Winchester  of  Wesleyan,  Professor 
A.  S.  Cook  of  Yale,  Professor  Sherman  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska,  and  Professor  Lewis  of  the 
University  of  Chicago.  The  last  named  gentle- 
man bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  portraits 
of  Shakespeare;  so  that  as  he  walked  around 
(habitually  without  a  hat  on  his  head)  everybody 
was  struck  with  the  likeness.  I  was  told  that  when 
he  sat  down  at  Shakespeare's  traditional  school- 
desk  in  Stratford,  a  crowd  gathered  before  the 
windows  and  the  word  was  passed  around  ' '  Shake- 
speare has  come  to  life  again!" 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      267 

Other  speakers  in  1895  were  Professor  Richard 
G.  Moulton,  Dr.  Josiah  Strong,  President  G. 
Stanley  Hall,  Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody  of 
Harvard,  Major  J.  B.  Pond,  Dr.  John  Henry 
Barrows,  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  President 
Harper,  Prof.  John  Fiske,  Principal  Fairbairn,  and 
the  distinguished  General  of  the  Confederate 
Army,  John  B.  Gordon,  Senator  from  Georgia. 
His  lecture  on  "The  Last  Days  of  the  Confed- 
eracy," was  one  of  the  great  occasions  of  the  season, 
and  it  was  noteworthy  that  many  veterans  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  were  among  the  loudest  in  their  applause 
when  their  foe  of  thirty  years  before  came  upon 
the  platform.  Another  event  of  the  summer  was 
the  visit  of  Governor  William  McKinley  of  Ohio, 
a  year  before  his  nomination  and  election  to  the 
Presidency.  During  this  season  also  we  were 
entertained  with  readings  by  Professor  S.  H. 
Clark,  Mr.  Will  M.  Carleton,  and  Miss  Ida 
Benfey. 

In  the  year  1895  another  movement  was  begun 
at  Chautauqua,  which  like  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  has 
swept  over  the  entire  continent  and  wrought 
mightily  for  the  public  welfare.  At  a  Kinder- 
garten Mothers'  Meeting  during  the  session,  Mrs. 
Theodore  W.  Birney  of  Georgia,  gave  an  address 
urging  a  National  Congress  of  Mothers,  and  her 


268      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

appeal  awakened  a  prompt  response.  Many  of 
those  who  had  listened  to  her  carried  her  message 
to  their  own  home-towns;  Mrs.  Birney  at  women's 
clubs  and  gatherings  gave  her  plea  over  and  over; 
and  when  the  General  Federation  of  Women's 
clubs  held  its  convention  in  her  native  State  of 
Georgia  she  presented  the  proposition  to  the  mem- 
bers. From  that  convention  in  1896,  a  call  was 
issued  for  a  National  Congress  of  Mothers,  to  be 
held  in  the  National  Capital.  Mrs.  Birney  gave 
a  year  of  tireless  and  wise  preparation  for  the  meet- 
ing, which  began  on  February  17,  1897.  She  was 
called  to  be  President  of  the  National  Congress,  with 
Miss  Mary  Louisa  Butler  as  Organizing  Secretary. 
The  work  was  aided  by  the  wide-reaching  influence 
and  liberal  gifts  of  Mrs.  Phebe  A.  Hearst,  who  has 
been  rightly  called  the  Lady  Bountiful  of  the 
movement.  Out  of  this  National  Congress  grew 
the  holding  of  State-congresses  in  every  part  of 
the  country  and  the  organization  of  local  branches 
in  almost  every  city.  The  Congress  of  Mothers 
now  has  its  central  office  in  Washington,  D.  C.  It 
is  divided  into  twenty -five  departments  of  work- 
such  as  Americanization,  Child  Hygiene,  Child 
Labor,  Education,  Mothers'  Circles,  Thrift,  and 
many  others,  each  having  its  chairman  and  plan 
of  effective  work.  Out  of  a  meeting  at  Chautau- 


CLUB  LIFE  AT  CHAUTAUQUA      269 

qua,  in  1895,  has  grown  a  nation-wide  movement 
in  aid  of  mothers  and  teachers. 

In  1896  the  schools  were  again  reorganized 
under  Dr.  Harper 's  supervision.  The  School  of 
Fine  Arts  and  the  New  York  Summer  Institute 
for  Teachers  were  new  departments,  the  latter 
under  the  direction  of  the  Regents  of  the  New  York 
State  University.  The  School  of  Sacred  Literature 
was  increased  in  its  faculty,  having  among  them 
President  Harper,  Professor  Shailer  Mathews,  and 
Professor  D.  A.  McClenahan  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Theological  School.  Prominent  among  the 
lecturers  this  year  were  Dr.  George  Adam  Smith 
of  Scotland,  Dr.  Gunsaulus,  Rev.  S.  Parkes  Cad- 
man,  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington,  Rev.  Dr. 
George  A.  Gordon,  Dr.  Charles  F.  Aked,  then  of 
England,  but  soon  to  become  an  American,  Pro- 
fessor F.  G.  Peabody,  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  Butler, 
soon  afterward  the  President  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, and  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell.  A  lady  ap- 
peared on  the  platform  whose  experience  had 
been  unlike  that  of  any  other  woman  in  the  land. 
This  was  Mrs.  Robert  E.  Peary,  who  accompanied 
her  husband  on  one  of  his  North  Pole  explorations 
and  had  a  daughter  born  within  the  polar  circle — 
"The  snow  baby,*'  as  she  was  called.  She  gave  a 
lecture  with  stereopticon  views  descriptive  of  the 


270     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

life  in  the  frozen  North.  Another  woman  gave  a 
lecture  this  year  upon  her  travels  in  Equatorial 
Africa,  Miss  Jessie  T.  Ackerman.  President 
Charles  W.  Eliot  of  Harvard  University  gave  the 
oration  on  Recognition  Day,  his  subject  being 
"America's  Contribution  to  Civilization."  In 
looking  through  the  list  of  the  speakers  on  Recogni- 
tion Day,  I  find  the  names  of  no  less  than  ten 
college  presidents,  and  also  that  of  the  Hon.  Wil- 
liam T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education,  who  might  be  regarded  as  standing  at 
the  head  of  the  nation's  educational  system.  The 
value  of  Chautauqua  as  a  force  in  education  has 
been  fully  recognized  by  the  highest  authorities. 


Arts  and  Crafts  Building 


Miller  Bell  Tower 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY 
(1897-1900) 

THE  Chautauqua  session  of  1897  was  fifty-nine 
days  long,  from  June  26th  to  August  23rd.  This 
year  the  School  of  Domestic  Science,  directed  by 
Mrs.  Emma  P.  Ewing,  attracted  attention.  Al- 
most as  many  ladies  whose  cookery  was  accom- 
plished by  servants,  as  those  who  broiled  their 
own  steaks  and  baked  their  own  puddings,  met  in 
Mrs.  Ewing's  model  kitchen,  learning  to  make 
bread,  to  prepare  appetizing  sauces  and  dressings, 
and  to  learn  how  to  serve  tables  with  refinement. 
I  remember  hearing  one  lady  remark  that  until 
she  had  received  Mrs.  Ewing's  instruction  she  had 
never  really  known  how  to  make  good  bread. 

Among  those  who  gave  lectures  in  1897,  we  find 
the  names  of  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Ballington  and 
Maud  Booth,  Bishop  (better  known  as  Chaplain) 
McCabe;  quite  a  list  of  college  presidents — 
Goucher  of  Baltimore,  Hyde  of  Bowdoin,  Harper  of 
Chicago,  John  Finley  of  New  York,  and  G.  Stanley 

271 


272      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Hall  of  Clark ;  also  Professor  Graham  Taylor,  Mr. 
Percy  Alden  of  England,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Riis.  A 
new  reader  of  noble  presence,  rich  voice,  and  rare 
dramatic  power,  recited  on  the  platform  of  the 
Amphitheater  and  assisted  in  the  School  of  Ex- 
pression— Mrs.  Bertha  Kunz  Baker,  who  was  to 
entertain  us  through  many  years.  Professor 
Clark  gave  readings;  Mr.  George  W.  Cable  ren- 
dered a  number  of  his  own  stories;  Mrs.  Jessie 
Eldridge  Southwick  and  Miss  Katherine  Oliver 
also  gave  recitals. 

After  Dr.  Vincent's  election  as  Bishop  in  1888, 
he  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  supervise  the 
ever-increasing  work  of  Chautauqua.  Often  dur- 
ing the  Assembly  season  he  would  be  compelled  to 
hold  conferences  in  the  far  west,  and  one  year  in 
South  America.  In  1896,  his  episcopal  residence 
was  changed  from  Buffalo  to  Topeka,  Kansas,  and 
in  1900  he  was  removed  to  Zurich,  Switzerland,  to 
take  charge  of  Methodist  missions  in  Europe. 
More  and  more  he  delegated  the  care  of  Chau- 
tauqua to  his  son,  who,  one  of  the  most  popular 
of  lecturers,  was  supreme  in  his  ability  as  ad- 
ministrator. In  1898  Professor  George  E.  Vincent 
was  formally  appointed  Principal  of  Instruction, 
and  very  soon  every  department  of  Chautauqua, 
both  in  its  lecture  platform  and  its  educational 


ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY  273 

work,  felt  the  touch  of  a  master  hand.  Some  of  us 
oldsters  who  had  loved  Chautauqua  from  its  earli- 
est years,  had  felt  anxious  for  its  future  as  we  saw 
one  of  its  Founders  called  aside  into  other  fields, 
and  the  other  failing  in  strength,  although  we 
knew  not  how  near  was  his  earthly  end.  But  we 
all  had  a  sense  of  relief  and  confidence  that  the 
future  of  Chautauqua  was  assured  when  we  found 
"George"  taking  his  father 's  place  as  executive  in 
the  Department  of  Instruction.  The  Bishop 
retained  the  title  of  Chancellor,  however,  as  long 
as  he  lived. 

In  1898  a  new  building  was  erected  on  College 
Hill— The  Hall  of  Pedagogy.  The  report  of  the 
season's  work  showed  that  attendance  had  in- 
creased in  the  schools  twenty-five  per  cent,  over 
the  last  year,  the  advance  being  distributed  quite 
evenly  among  the  departments.  By  this  time 
nearly  all  the  universities  and  many  of  the  col- 
leges were  holding  summer  schools,  yet  Chautau- 
qua, first  in  the  field,  was  still  leading  in  its  mem- 
bership. This  year  Chautauqua  received  a  visit 
from  Lord  Aberdeen,  the  Governor-General  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  and  his  wife,  the  Countess. 
Americans  are  apt  to  look  for  a  freezing  dignity 
on  the  part  of  the  higher  nobility,  and  some  were 
a  little  surprised  to  find  the  Governor-General 

18 


274      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

and  his  Lady  unreservedly  approachable,  and 
unaffectedly  democratic  in  manner. 

Some  of  those  who  gave  lectures  in  1898  were 
Dr.  Richard  T.  Ely  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
President  Thirkield  of  Atlanta,  afterward  Bishop, 
Dr.  Moulton,  Miss  Jane  Addams,  Hon.  Murat 
Halstead,  General  John  B.  Eaton,  Mr.  Leon  H. 
Vincent,  Bishop  Daniel  A.  Goodsell,  Dr.  J.  H. 
Barrows,  President  of  Oberlin,  President  Faunce 
of  Brown,  Dr.  Robert  Mclntyre,  also  to  become  a 
Bishop  in  due  time,  Dr.  Charles  E.  Jefferson  of 
New  York,  Dr.  Amory  H.  Bradford  of  Mont- 
clair,  N.  J.,  and  Mr.  John  Kendrick  Bangs.  Mr. 
Leland  Powers  was  with  us  on  his  biennial  visit, 
and  recitals  were  also  rendered  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Under- 
bill, Mr.  John  Fox,  Miss  Isabel  Garghill,  Mr. 
Will  Carleton,  and  Miss  Ida  Benfey.  Up  to  that 
date,  the  season  of  1898  was  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful in  Chautauqua  history. 

At  this  time,  the  Chautauquan  Magazine,  the 
organ  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  and  the  Daily  Assembly 
Her 'aid ,  were  taken  over  by  the  trustees,  and  the 
Chautauqua  Press  was  established  as  the  pub- 
lishing agency  for  the  periodicals  and  books  of 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.  Mr.  Frank  Chapin  Bray  was 
appointed  Editor.  By  birth  and  education  he  was 
a  thorough  Chautauquan,  having,  as  it  were, 


ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY  275 

grown  up  on  the  ground  from  early  childhood  and 
gone*  through  all  the  courses  from  the  Children's 
Class  to  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  As  a  small  boy  he  had 
sold  the  Assembly  Herald;  as  a  young  man  had 
written  for  its  columns,  and  he  is  not  the  only 
journalist  who  took  these  steps  upward  to  a 
literary  career. 

The  season  of  1899  opened  with  a  cloud  hanging 
over  Chautauqua,  bringing  sorrow  to  one  family 
and  deepest  sympathy  from  many. 

On  February  17,  1899,  Lewis  Miller  died  in  a 
hospital  in  New  York  where  he  had  been  taken  to 
undergo  an  operation  from  which  he  failed  to 
rally.  He  was  seventy  years  of  age  and  had  given 
his  whole  heart  and  the  best  of  his  life  to  Chautau- 
qua. But  for  Lewis  Miller  there  would  have  been 
no  Chautauqua,  though  there  might  have  been  an 
Assembly  under  some  other  name.  He  had  chosen 
the  place,  had  urged  the  location,  and  in  its  incep- 
tion had  aided  in  its  plans,  had  supervised  its 
business  interests,  and  had  contributed  generously 
to  its  needs.  At  the  opening  of  the  "Old  First 
Night"  service  in  August,  1899,  the  white  lilies 
bloomed  in  his  honor,  but  instead  of  being  waved, 
were  held  in  solemn  stillness  for  a  full  minute, 
and  then  slowly  lowered,  and  this  memorial  has 
been  observed  on  every  "Old  First  Night"  since. 


276      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

The  names  of  Lewis  Miller  and  John  H.  Vincent 
stand  together  in  equal  honor  as  the  two  Founders 
of  Chautauqua.  Next  to  these  Founders  we  re- 
member on  ''Old  First  Night"  two  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  late 
Francis  H.  Root  of  Buffalo,  and  Clem.  Stude- 
baker  of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  both  wise 
counsellors  and  generous  givers  to  Chautauqua. 

During  the  session  of  1899,  Theodore  Roosevelt 
was  for  the  third  time  the  guest  of  Chautauqua. 
The  war  with  Spain  had  come  and  gone;  he  had 
been  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders,  and  was  now 
Governor  of  New  York.  One  of  those  Rough 
Riders  was  young  Theodore  Miller,  the  son  of  the 
Founder  of  Chautauqua,  and  the  only  Yale  student 
to  lay  down  his  life  in  that  campaign.  His  memory 
is  preserved  by  the  Miller  Gate  on  the  University 
campus.  Another  Governor  was  with  us  that 
summer,  Robert  L.  Taylor  of  Tennessee.  The 
two  brothers  Taylor  were  the  heads  respectively 
of  the  two  political  parties  in  their  State,  were 
candidates  opposed  to  each  other,  stumped  the 
State  together,  slept  together  every  night,  played 
the  violin  together  at  their  meetings,  and  then 
after  the  concert,  made  their  speeches  against  one 
another.  The  writer  of  these  pages  may  claim  a 
humble  part  in  their  careers,  for  both  of  them  as 


ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY  277 

boys,  and  also  an  older  brother,  were  students 
under  his  teaching  in  1864  and  '65  in  Pennington 
Seminary,  New  Jersey.  We  could  tell  some 
stories  about  those  three  Taylor  boys,  but  we  re- 
frain. I  think  that  the  Republican  Taylor,  Alfred, 
is  even  now  (1920)  the  Governor  of  Tennessee,  as 
his  brother  was  its  Democratic  Governor  in  1899. 
Another  visitor  of  about  this  date,  though  we 
are  not  certain  of  the  precise  year,  was  Mr. 
Horace  Fletcher,  whose  name  is  in  the  dictionary 
in  the  word  "Fletcherize,"  which  means  to  count 
the  chewing  of  each  mouthful  thirty  times  before 
swallowing  it.  We  have  tried  some  steaks  in  the 
early  Chautauquan  days  when  fifty  chews  would 
hardly  make  an  impression.  He  spoke  on  the 
platform,  and  the  few  who  could  hear  him  said 
that  his  talk  was  not  about  dietetics,  but  foreign 
politics,  though  the  two  words  are  somewhat  alike 
and  they  may  have  misunderstood  him.  His  fif- 
tieth birthday  came  while  he  was  at  Chautauqua, 
and  he  celebrated  it  by  doing  some  amazing  stunts, 
double  somersaults,  etc.,  into  the  lake  at  the  diving 
place.  I  sat  at  the  table  next  to  his  at  the  Athe- 
naeum and  noticed  that  he  ate  very  slowly,  but  I 
could  not  count  the  chews  on  each  mouthful.  A 
lady  at  the  same  table  told  me  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
eschewed  coffee  but  put  seven  lumps  of  sugar  in 


278      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

his  tea,  calmly  observing  that  his  "system  needed 
sugar."  I  know  some  young  people  who  have  the 
same  opinion  concerning  their  own  systems,  if  one 
may  judge  by  the  fate  of  a  box  of  chocolates  in 
their  hands. 

In  this  year  the  School  of  Religious  Teaching 
was  reorganized,  the  Department  of  Sacred  Litera- 
ture being  conducted  by  Chancellor  Wallace  of 
Toronto,  and  that  of  Religious  Pedagogy,  by  Dr. 
J.  R.  Street.  We  may  as  well  insert  here  the  fact 
that  for  many  years  before,  and  during  the  seasons 
since  that  year,  Sunday  School  lessons  were  taught 
in  the  morning  and  a  lecture  given  at  the  Park  of 
Palestine  in  the  afternoon  by  the  author  of  this 
volume.  The  plan  with  the  lessons  has  been  to 
give  every  morning  a  preview  of  a  coming  Sunday 
School  topic,  so  that  by  the  close  of  the  season  all 
the  lessons  for  six  months  to  come  have  been 
taught,  and  at  Palestine  Park  to  treat  the  geogra- 
phy of  the  land  historically  in  a  series  of  lectures. 
Also,  it  should  be  remembered  that  every  Sunday 
of  the  Chautauqua  season,  from  the  first  year,  a 
Sunday  School  has  been  held  in  the  morning,  for 
all  ages  from  youngest  to  oldest,  the  grades  being 
taught  in  different  places  on  the  grounds  by 
specialists  in  their  several  departments.  For 
some  years,  if  one  strayed  on  Sunday  morning 


ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY  279 

over  Palestine  Park,  he  might  find  a  class  of  boys 
seated  on  the  hills  around  Nazareth  listening  to  a 
lesson  on  the  boyhood  of  Jesus,  and  a  group  of 
girls  looking  down  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  while  a 
teacher  was  telling  stories  of  the  tempest  stilled 
and  the  five  thousand  fed. 

Prominent  upon  the  lecture  platform  in  1899 
were  Prof.  C.  T.  Winchester,  Dr.  Charles  E.  Jef- 
ferson, Prof.  John  Fiske,  Prof.  A.  B.  Hart,  Bishop 
C.  B.  Galloway  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  President  Faunce,  Dr.  George 
Adam  Smith,  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale,  and  Governor 
G.  W.  Atkinson  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  John 
Kendrick  Bangs  was  also  on  the  platform  with 
readings. 

The  year  1900  rounded  out  a  century,  and  one  of 
its  outstanding  events  at  Chautauqua  was  a 
course  of  lectures  by  Principal  Fairbairn  of  Oxford 
on  "The  Nineteenth  Century."  He  asserted  that 
in  the  ages  to  come,  this  hundred  years  will  be 
looked  upon  as  perhaps  the  greatest  of  all  the  cen- 
turies in  the  world's  progress  made  during  that 
period.  He  spoke  in  turn  upon  the  historical,  the 
political,  the  inventive,  the  literary,  the  religious, 
and  the  philosophic  progress,  giving  without  a 
written  reminder  names,  dates,  facts,  processes  of 
thought  in  the  widest  range.  Many  regarded  it 


280      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  enlightening  series  of 
addresses  that  they  had  ever  heard. 

Among  the  new  faces  on  the  platform  we  saw 
Dr.  Lincoln  Hulley,  the  new  President  of  the 
John  B.  Stetson  University  of  Florida,  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  speaker  and  a  charming  person- 
ality. We  heard  also  Mr.  Edward  Howard  Griggs 
in  a  series  of  lectures  in  the  Amphitheater,  and  an 
appreciative  class  also  met  him  in  the  school.  From 
1900  until  the  present,  Mr.  Griggs  has  given  us 
biennial  courses,  and  on  "Old  First  Night"  his  tall 
form  rises  and  sits  down  as  the  record  is  made  up 
for  every  alternate  year.  No  lecturer  on  thought- 
ful subjects  has  more  engagements  or  brings  to- 
gether larger  audiences  than  Mr.  Griggs.  Dean 
Charles  D.  Williams  of  Trinity  Cathedral,  and  in  a 
few  years  Bishop  (Protestant  Episcopal)  of  Detroit, 
an  independent  thinker  and  powerful  preacher, 
welcomed  both  on  the  platform  and  in  the  pulpit 
many  times  since  that  appearance,  his  first  among 
us.  I  think  also  that  Professor  Bliss  Perry  of 
Harvard  spoke  for  the  first  time  this  season,  also 
President  Benjamin  Ide  Wheeler.  Others  who 
came  as  old  friends  were  Prof.  Moses  Coit  Tyler, 
President  Henry  Churchill  King,  Dr.  Graham 
Taylor,  Dr.  Cadman,  Mr.  Edward  Howard  Griggs, 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  Miss  Susan  B.  An- 


ROUNDING  OUT  THE  OLD  CENTURY  281 

thony,  and  Miss  Jane  Addams.  I  must  not  forget 
that  this  summer  Mr.  Francis  Wilson  was  with  us 
again,  and  gave  a  lecture  upon  Eugene  Field  and 
his  poetry,  an  appreciation  inspired  by  friendship 
as  well  as  literary  insight.  On  a  former  visit  to 
Chautauqua  Francis  Wilson  not  only  joined  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.,  but  formed  a  reading  circle  in  his 
dramatic  company,  directing  their  studies  and 
holding  their  literary  meetings  in  railroad  stations, 
in  hotel  parlors,  and  in  the  green  rooms  of  theaters, 
wherever  they  chanced  to  be  when  the  meeting 
day  arrived. 

On  August  7,  1900,  the  corner  stone  of  the  Hall 
of  Christ,  "Aula  Christi,"  was  laid.  The  address 
on  that  occasion  was  given  by  Bishop  James  M. 
Thoburn  of  India.  Bishop  Vincent  was  now  living 
overseas  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  and  could  not  be 
present.  The  stone  was  laid  by  Principal  George 
E.  Vincent  and  a  telegram  from  his  father  was 
read.  This  Hall  was  one  of  the  creations  of 
Bishop  Vincent's  poetic  mind.  He  aimed  to  make 
it  a  building  not  large,  but  beautiful,  a  sort  of 
shrine,  a  chapel  for  meditation  and  prayer,  a 
place  of  quiet,  spiritual  fellowship,  not  of  class 
teaching,  but  of  thoughtful  addresses  on  themes 
directly  relating  to  our  Lord.  Bishop  Vincent 
did  not  possess  the  genius  for  raising  large  sums  of 


282      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

money  for  his  conceptions ;  he  shrank  from  pressing 
them  upon  rich  men.  Another  projector  would 
have  ventured  boldly,  demanded  contributions 
and  obtained  them,  to  build  the  Hall  at  once ;  but 
Dr.  Vincent  was  delicate  in  speaking  of  it,  though 
all  knew  his  ardent  desires  for  this  ideal.  The 
building  grew  slowly  as  gifts  were  received.  Begun 
in  1899,  it  was  not  dedicated  until  1912.  Although 
no  thought  of  his  own  honor  in  this  building  was 
in  the  Founder's  mind,  yet  to  many  it  stands  as 
his  monument  at  Chautauqua.  Most  appropri- 
ately it  is  used  as  the  center  for  the  Department  of 
Religious  Work,  and  daily  lectures  are  given  within 
its  walls  on  Biblical  themes. 

As  Dr.  George  Vincent  was  now  an  associate 
professor  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  have  some  assistance  in  the 
management  of  the  Chautauqua  program  and 
platform.  Mr.  Scott  Brown  was  this  year  ap- 
pointed General  Director  and  Vice-Principal  of 
Instruction. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY 
(I90I-I904) 

THE  season  of  1901  was  the  longest  of  any 
thus  far,  sixty  days,  from  July  ist  to  August  29th. 
In  the  schools  Manual  Training  was  introduced 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Henry  J.  Baker,  also 
a  school  of  Library  Training  under  the  general 
guidance  of  Mr.  Melvil  Dewey,  at  that  time  New 
York  State  Librarian,  and  soon  after  made  one  of 
the  Chautauqua  trustees.  The  resident  director 
of  this  school  was  at  first  Miss  Mary  E.  Hazeltine 
of  Jamestown ;  later,  and  up  to  the  present  time, 
Miss  Mary  E.  Downey,  of  the  Utah  State  Library. 
The  growth  of  public  libraries  throughout  the 
country  has  made  this  school  very  popular  among 
young  women  seeking  the  profession  of  librarian. 

Some  voices  new  to  Chautauqua  were  heard 
from  the  Amphitheater  platform  in  1901,  such  as 
Dr.  O.  P.  Giflord  of  the  Baptist  Church,  Captain 
Richmond  Pearson  Hobson,  Mrs.  L.  Ormiston 
Chant  of  England,  a  descendant  of  the  great 

283 


284      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Edmund  Burke,  we  were  informed,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  Hon.  Benjamin  B.  Odell.  Mr. 
Joseph  Jefferson,  whom  all  the  world  of  that  gener- 
ation knew  as  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  gave  a  lecture 
showing  the  relations  of  the  lecture  platform  and 
the  stage.  Rev.  John  McNeill,  whose  speech 
showed  that  he  came  from  the  north  of  the  Tweedj 
preached  a  powerful  and  searching  sermon.  Dr. 
Robert  Stuart  McArthur  gave  a  lecture  on 
"Mountain  Peaks  in  Russian  History."  Dr. 
Hale,  President  Crawford,  Mr.  Leland  Powers, 
Dr.  S.  H.  Clark,  Dr.  Moulton,  and  Mr.  George  W. 
Bain  were  among  the  old  Chautauqua  favorites  of 
that  season.  As  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  Class  of  1900  had 
taken  the  name  "The  Nineteenth  Century  Class," 
the  one  graduating  this  year  was  entitled  "The 
Twentieth  Century  Class."  The  speaker  on 
Recognition  Day  was  Chancellor  E.  Benjamin 
Andrews  of  the  University  of  Nebraska,  on  the 
subject,  "Problems  of  Greater  America." 

The  season  of  1902  was  noteworthy  from  a  visit 
of  Bishop  Vincent.  It  seems  strange  to  read  of  a 
visit  from  the  Founder  of  Chautauqua,  but  he  was 
at  that  time  living  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  holding 
Methodist  conferences  all  over  Europe,  in  many 
languages  through  interpreters,  and  for  several 
years  had  been  absent  from  Chautauqua.  We  of 


OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY     285 

the  older  generation  always  missed  his  presence, 
but  to  the  younger  troop  of  Chautauquans  his  was 
only  a  revered  name.  The  Vincent  whom  they 
knew,  and  packed  the  Amphitheater  to  hear,  was 
the  Director  George  E.  Vincent,  the  man  at  the 
wheel  of  Chautauqua.  This  year  the  announce- 
ment was  made  that  the  Chancellor  was  coming, 
and  a  royal  welcome  was  prepared.  A  printed 
account  of  this  event  reads  as  follows : 

Arriving  at  Lakewood,  the  Bishop  was  met  by  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees.  After 
the  welcome  greetings,  the  party  took  a  special  steamer 
for  Chautauqua.  At  the  Pier  a  fleet  of  craft  of 
all  descriptions — launches,  sail-boats,  and  row-boats 
— awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Bishop's  steamer.  As 
soon  as  it  came  within  hailing  distance,  the  larger 
boats  dipped  colors  and  all  the  people  waved  hand- 
kerchiefs, the  chimes  at  the  Point  rang  in  a  familiar 
tune,  and  as  the  steamer  headed  toward  the  Pier,  the 
Chautauqua  choir,  gathered  in  the  balcony,  sang  the 
old  Chautauqua  song,  "Join,  O  friends,  in  a  memory 
song." 

As  the  boat  came  to  the  wharf,  the  bank  and  the 
Park  of  Palestine  were  a  mass  of  waving  handker- 
chiefs. The  Reception  Committee,  composed  of  offi- 
cials of  the  Institution,  stood  on  the  Pier,  and  back 
of  them  an  immense  throng  all  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  their  beloved  leader.  Lines  were  formed  on  either 
side  of  the  walk,  and  as  the  Bishop  passed  between 
them  he  was  greeted  with  the  salute  of  the  white 


286     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

handkerchiefs.  In  Miller  Park  were  gathered  the 
cottage  owners,  the  Summer  Schools,  and  the  C.  L.  S. 
C.  classes,  with  their  banners  and  emblems,  and  the 
various  clubs  and  children's  classes.  On  the  way  to  his 
cottage  on  Lake  Avenue,  the  Bishop  was  escorted  by 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  Boys' 
and  Girls'  Clubs,  whose  sweet  voices  rang  out  clear 
and  full  in  "Auld  Lang  Syne."  From  the  veranda 
of  his  tent  cottage,  the  Bishop  made  an  eloquent  ad- 
dress of  appreciation,  full  of  the  joy  of  home-coming. 

In  1904,  Bishop  Vincent  was  placed  on  the  re- 
tired list,  to  dwell  where  he  chose,  free  from  episco- 
pal service.  From  that  year  until  1918,  he  passed 
a  portion  of  each  summer  at  Chautauqua  and  took 
part  in  the  program,  but  without  the  responsi- 
bility of  supervision.  Most  of  the  time  he  was 
happy  in  his  release,  but  there  would  come  occa- 
sional hours  when  he  longed  to  hold  the  reins  once 
more. 

In  this  year,  1902,  a  new  charter  was  received 
from  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  giving  a  new 
title,  "Chautauqua  Institution."  The  Girls' 
Club  and  the  Unitarian  House  were  built  this 
season,  also  the  Disciples'  Headquarters  on  Clark 
Avenue  received  its  pillared  portico.  The  Luth- 
eran House  was  established  during  this  season. 

Senator  Mark  Hanna  of  Ohio,  who  was  looked 
upon  as  "the  power  behind  the  throne"  during 


OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY     287 

the  presidency  of  his  friend,  William  McKinley, 
spoke  at  Chautauqua  in  1902,  also  Mrs.  Penny- 
backer  of  Texas,  Dr.  A.  E.  Dunning  of  Boston, 
editor  of  the  Congregationalist,  General  John  C. 
Black  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Earl  Barnes,  Prof. 
Charles  Zeublin,  Dr.  W.  F.  Oldham  of  India,  after- 
ward a  Bishop,  and  the  ever- welcome  Frank 
Beard  who  had  been  absent  for  a  number  of  years. 

Chautauqua  has  always  believed  in  the  open 
and  free  discussion  of  vexed  questions,  and  this  year 
from  August  4th  to  August  8th  was  held  a  most 
interesting  conference  on  "The  Labor  Movement." 
The  introductory  address  opening  the  subject  was 
given  by  the  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  U.  S.  Com- 
missioner of  Labor.  Supplementary  lectures,  fol- 
lowed by  discussion,  were  by  President  Harper  on 
"The  University  and  Industrial  Education "; 
Mr.  Frank  P.  Sargent,  "Growth  and  Influence  of 
Labor  Organizations";  Mr.  John  Mitchell,  "The 
Joint  Conference  between  Employer  and  Em- 
ployee." On  both  sides  there  was  the  frankest 
expression  of  opinion.  I  remember  that  when  one 
speaker  was  asked  whether  he  was  an  actual 
worker  or  a  professional  agitator,  without  a  word 
he  held  out  his  hands  that  all  might  see  they  were 
the  hands  of  a  workingman. 

This  year  was  notable  in  the  Department  of 


288     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Music,  by  the  entrance  of  Mr.  Alfred  Hallam  as 
Director.  His  whole-hearted,  absolutely  self -for- 
getting labor,  and  his  reach  after  the  highest 
standards  in  his  art,  from  1902  to  1919,  made  Mr. 
Hallam  dear  not  only  to  his  choir,  but  to  all 
Chautauquans. 

The  year  1903  was  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  in  1878.  That 
event  in  popular  education  was  commemorated  by 
a  great  meeting  in  the  Amphitheater  and  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  of  a  new  Hall  of  Philosophy 
on  the  site  of  the  old  hall,  which,  being  a  wooden 
building,  was  decaying.  The  Class  of  1882  planted 
some  ivy  brought  from  the  Palatine  Hill  in  Rome, 
other  classes  planted  oak  and  pine  trees.  A 
sealed  box,  containing  portraits  of  the  Founders 
and  copies  of  Chautauqua  publications,  was  placed 
in  the  corner  stone,  which  was  then  lowered  into 
place  and  made  secure  with  mortar,  the  trowel 
being  handled  in  turn  by  Dr.  George  Vincent  and 
Director  Scott  Brown.  As  the  stone  was  put  in 
place,  a  cablegram  was  read  from  Bishop  Vincent 
at  Helsingfors,  Finland — "Remember  the  founda- 
tion is  Christ."  Vincent. 

This  year,  1903,  the  Arts  and  Crafts  shops, 
which  had  been  in  various  places  over  the  ground, 
were  brought  together  by  the  director,  Henry 


OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY     289 

Turner  Bailey,  making  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Vil- 
lage, in  later  years  to  become  the  Arts  and  Crafts 
Building.  The  Grange  Building  on  Simpson 
Avenue  was  erected  and  presented  as  headquarters 
for  that  order  by  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Jones  of  James- 
town. This  year,  1903,  Dean  Percy  H.  Boynton 
of  the  University  of  Chicago  was  made  Secretary 
of  Instruction,  and  placed  in  full  charge  of  the 
Summer  Schools,  which  by  this  time  had  grown  to 
more  than  two  thousand  students.  A  few  years 
later  he  received  the  title  of  Principal  and  gave  to 
the  summer  schools  his  unremitting  attention 
until  1917.  To  Dean  Boyn ton's  careful  choice 
of  instructors  and  watchfulness  over  details  of 
management  during  those  years  the  growth  and 
success  of  the  schools  is  largely  due. 

The  Liquor  Problem  was  the  subject  of  the  Con- 
ference on  August  3-8,  1903.  I  find  on  the  list  of 
speakers  and  their  subjects  eight  names  to  which 
might  be  added  five  times  as  many  who  partici- 
pated in  the  discussions.  Commander  Frederick 
Booth-Tucker  and  his  wife  Emma  Booth-Tucker, 
told  of  "The  Salvation  Army  and  the  Liquor 
Problem."  Mr.  Raymond  Robins,  an  eminent 
social  worker  of  Chicago,  spoke  on  "The  Saloon 
and  the  World  of  Graft,  Vagrancy,  and  Municipal 
Correction,"  although  it  may  have  been  "munici- 

19 


290     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

pal  corruption,"  for  I  think  he  spoke  on  both  sub- 
jects. Mrs.  Lillian  M.  N.  Stevens,  told  of  the  work 
of  the  W.  C.  T.  U. ;  Prof.  I.  P.  Bishop  showed  "The 
Physiological  Effects  of  Alcohol,"  Prof.  Frederick 
Starr,  the  anthropologist,  gave  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  "Stimulants  among  Primitive  Peoples." 
Other  speakers  were  Rev.  E.  C.  Dinwiddie,  Mr. 
Frederick  H.  Wines,  and  Mrs.  John  G.  Woolley. 

Another  Conference  was  held  August  loth  to 
1 5th  on  "The  Mob,"  and  attracted  the  deepest 
interest.  President  William  G.  Frost  of  Berea 
College,  Kentucky,  told  of  "The  Mountain 
Feuds  " ;  Mr.  John  Temple  Graves  spoke  in  defense 
of  lynching,  and  declared  that  the  only  solution  of 
the  negro  problem  in  the  south  would  be  the  en- 
forced deportation  of  the  negro  back  to  Africa; 
but  other  Southerners  present  did  not  agree  with 
him.  Dean  Richmond  Babbitt  gave  "A  Study 
of  the  Lynch  Law";  Mr.  D.  M.  Parry  spoke  on 
"The  Mob  Spirit  in  Organized  Labor";  Mr. 
Thomas  Kidd  on  "The  Labor  Unions  and  the 
Mob  Spirit."  Chief  Justice  Charles  B.  Lore  of 
Delaware  and  Judge  John  Woodward  gave  "The 
Legal  Aspects  of  the  Mob  Spirit."  No  discussion 
at  Chautauqua  awakened  such  feeling,  although 
it  was  carried  on  with  perfect  courtesy  by  speakers 
on  the  opposing  sides. 


OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY     291 

We  can  name  only  a  few  of  the  many  lecturers 
in  the  regular  program  of  1903.  One  was  Gov- 
ernor Robert  M.  La  Follette  of  Wisconsin,  soon  to 
attract  attention  as  an  insurgent  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  Another  was  Mr.  George  Willis 
Cooke,  on  social  subjects.  Mr.  Hamlin  Garland, 
the  story-writer,  gave  a  lecture,  also  General  John 
B.  Gordon  of  Georgia,  Dr.  Richard  Burton,  a 
course  in  literature;  Hon.  Wm.  T.  Harris,  Dr. 
Moulton,  and  the  Rev.  R.  J.  Campbell  of  London. 
The  platform  during  the  season  was  fairly  crowded, 
the  speakers  and  concerts  following  in  such  close 
succession. 

In  1904,  Bishop  Vincent  having  been  relieved 
from  the  cares  of  the  Episcopacy,  went  to  live  for  a 
time  in  Indianapolis.  He  was  now  able  to  come 
with  more  or  less  regularity  to  Chautauqua,  and 
gave  the  opening  address  of  the  season.  The  ex- 
ercises of  that  year  extended  through  sixty  days 
beginning  June  30th  and  ending  August  28th. 
We  note  that  the  School  of  English  included  in  its 
staff  Prof.  Richard  G.  Moulton  and  Edward 
Howard  Griggs.  The  work  in  Nature  Study  was 
enlarged  to  include  courses  in  Botany  and  Physi- 
ography. The  courses  for  teachers  embraced 
systematic  work  in  all  the  grades  from  the  kinder- 
garten to  the  college.  This  year  the  new  electric 


292      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

railway  was  opened  from  Jamestown  to  Chautau- 
qua  and  thence  to  Mayville  and  Westfield  on  Lake 
Erie.  Bishop  Vincent  was  a  passenger  on  the  first 
car  over  the  line.  This  improved  means  of  trans- 
portation enabled  people  to  come  by  rail  every 
hour  to  Chautauqua,  gave  direct  and  speedy  con- 
nection with  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  and 
resulted  in  making  the  principal  entrance  to  the 
grounds  no  longer  by  water  but  by  land.  Hence 
the  crowds  forsook  the  stores  in  the  Pier  Building 
and  the  Arcade,  and  a  new  business  center  grew 
up  on  the  hill. 

This  year  the  new  Hall  of  Philosophy  was 
opened,  of  the  same  general  plan  as  the  old  build- 
ing, but  with  floor  and  pillars  of  concrete,  a  more 
durable  material.  The  building  was  also  some- 
what larger  than  its  predecessor  and  was  in  every 
way  more  convenient.  In  the  concrete  floor  are 
inserted  tablets  in  honor  of  the  classes  that  con- 
tributed toward  the  building.  The  pillars  also 
bear  the  names  of  their  givers.  The  list  of  exer- 
cises in  the  Hall  during  any  Assembly  season  would 
of  itself  make  a  long  catalogue. 

The  Devotional  Hour  had  now  become  a  sys- 
tematic order  and  called  together  large  congrega- 
tions. It  was  not  altogether  the  fame  of  the  great 
preachers,  but  also  the  strong  religious  atmosphere 


OPENING  THE  NEW  CENTURY     293 

of  the  place  that  gathered  every  day  at  ten  o'clock 
for  five  mornings  of  each  week  a  thousand  people 
for  worship.  How  many  churches  could  show  a 
congregation  as  large,  not  only  on  Sundays,  when 
the  service  was  attended  by  five  thousand  people, 
but  through  the  days  of  the  week?  Among  the 
chaplains  of  this  season,  each  serving  a  week,  were 
Dr.  S.  Parkes  Cadman,  Dr.  Hugh  Black,  Bishop 
Oldham,  Dr.  Daniel  Dorchester  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  the  evangelist,  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman. 

The  Conference  of  1904  was  from  July  24th  to 
29th  on  the  subject  of  Missions,  Home  and 
Foreign.  Among  the  speakers  were  Dr.  Francis 
E.  Clark  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement, 
recently  returned  from  an  all-around  the  world  visit 
to  missions  abroad,  Dr.  Frederick  G.  Stanley, 
Dr.  George  M.  Boynton,  Dr.  Homer  Stuntz  from 
the  Philippines — afterward  a  Bishop  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church — Bishop  Oldham,  and  Mr. 
J.  L.  Joslin  of  India. 

I  remember  hearing  Dr.  Stuntz  tell  of  a  native 
Filipino  who  came  to  him  soon  after  the  American 
occupation  of  Manila,  and  after  carefully  closing 
the  door,  and  looking  in  closets  to  be  sure  that  no 
one  was  in  hearing,  carefully  unrolled  a  package, 
showed  a  small  Bible  in  the  Spanish  language,  and 
asked:  "Would  it  be  safe  for  me  to  be  found  read- 


294     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ing  this  book?  I  have  kept  it  hidden  for  years, 
for  my  life  would  have  been  the  penalty  if  it  had 
been  seen."  Dr.  Stuntz  led  him  to  a  window, 
pointed  to  the  American  flag  flying  over  the  castle, 
and  said:  "Do  you  see  that  flag?  As  long  as  that 
flag  flutters  over  these  islands,  you  can  stand  in 
the  market  place  and  read  in  as  loud  a  voice  as  you 
choose  out  of  this  book  and  you  will  be  safe. 
Wherever  that  flag  flies,  the  Bible  is  an  open 
book!" 

Most  of  the  men  whom  we  have  named  gave  lec- 
tures, as  well  as  participating  in  the  conferences. 
Besides  these,  we  saw  on  the  platform  the  massive 
form  of  William  Howard  Taft,  then  Secretary  of 
War,  after  a  few  years  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States;  Mr.  Griggs  also  gave  a  course  of 
lectures  and  taught  classes  in  literature,  and  Prof. 
Frederick  Starr  was  one  of  the  speakers.  Dr. 
George  Adam  Smith  of  Scotland  was  also  with  us 
during  the  season  of  1904. 

Some  of  the  recitations  this  year  were  by  Dr. 
S.  H.  Clark,  Mrs.  Bertha  Kunz  Baker,  Mrs. 
Emily  M.  Bishop,  Miss  Marie  L.  Shedlock,  and 
Prof.  Henry  L.  Southwick. 


CHAPTER  XX 

PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA 
(1905-1908) 

THE  notable  event  in  the  Assembly  of  1905  was 
the  fourth  visit  of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  He  was 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  not  now  by 
succession,  but  by  direct  vote  of  the  people,  for  his 
first  term,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  McKinley,  had 
been  completed.  He  had  promised  to  maintain 
his  predecessor's  policies  during  the  period  for 
which  Mr.  McKinley  had  been  elected,  and 
through  that  term  he  had  initiated  no  new  move- 
ments. But  his  pledge  having  been  kept  and  his 
administration  ratified  by  the  popular  vote,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  now  free  to  bring  forward  his  own 
plans.  His  address  at  Chautauqua  on  August 
nth,  five  months  after  his  inauguration,  was  the 
first  public  announcement  of  his  principles  and 
policies,  and  in  its  boldness,  its  candor,  and  its 
originality  was  fairly  startling.  Mr.  McKinley 
was  a  cordial,  but  a  reticent  party  leader.  Every- 
one who  talked  with  him  was  charmed,  but  no  one 

295 


296     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

could  recall  any  definite  promise  or  statement  that 
he  had  made.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  absolutely, 
unreservedly  open ;  he  would  state  to  anybody  his 
opinion  on  every  public  question.  Lyman  Abbott 
once  said,  "Mr.  McKinley  and  Mr.  Roosevelt 
•were  both  great  men  and  great  statesmen,  but 
between  the  absolute  reticence  of  the  one  and  the 
absolutely  openness  of  the  other,  there  is  no  half- 
way house.*' 

The  presidential  party  included  his  son  Kermit, 
his  nephew  Paul  Roosevelt,  his  cousin  Philip 
Roosevelt,  Mr.  Jacob  A.  Riis,  and  a  number  of 
leading  politicians,  besides  secret  service  men,  and 
the  inevitable  troop  of  newspaper  reporters.  They 
were  met  at  Lakewood  by  Bishop  Vincent,  his  son 
the  Principal,  and  representatives  of  the  Chautau- 
qua  Board.  A  breakfast  was  served  to  the  party 
and  to  some  invited  guests  in  Higgins  Hall.  I  sat 
beside  a  prominent  politician  who  said  to  me  that 
on  the  train  and  boat  he  was  absolutely  amazed 
at  the  knowledge  of  President  Roosevelt  upon 
every  subject,  and  his  readiness  to  state  his  views 
upon  even  the  deepest  matters  of  State.  At  the 
table  I  noticed  Dr.  James  M.  Buckley  sitting  be- 
side the  President  and  in  earnest  conversation 
with  him.  As  we  passed  out  of  the  Hall,  I  men- 
tioned to  Dr.  Buckley  what  the  public  man  had 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     297 

told  me  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  outspoken  candor,  and 
Dr.  Buckley  said  that  the  President  had  answered 
every  question  in  utter  frankness,  evidently  hav- 
ing nothing  to  conceal;  and  Dr.  Buckley  could 
ask  searching  questions. 

The  adage, "It  sometimes  rains  at  Chautauqua," 
was  verified  that  day  by  a  steady  downpour,  which 
with  the  umbrellas  lifted  over  the  moving  proces- 
sion made  every  avenue,  seen  from  an  upper  bal- 
cony, look  like  an  endless  serpent  with  a  series  of 
bulging  black  knobs  on  his  back.  No  words  can 
express  the  jam  of  people  in  and  around  the  Amphi- 
theater and  the  breathless  interest  with  which  all 
listened  to  the  President's  address,  which  came 
like  a  revelation,  with  its  outspoken  utterances 
upon  subjects  hitherto  held  as  State  secrets.  He 
talked  of  our  relations  with  nations  abroad,  and  of 
problems  at  home,  the  trusts,  questions  of  capital 
and  labor,  and,  indeed,  every  subject  under  dis- 
cussion at  that  time.  A  statesman  once  said, 
"Language  was  invented  to  conceal  thought,"  but 
that  was  certainly  not  the  use  of  language  by  one 
eminent  American.  As  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  leav- 
ing the  Amphitheater,  he  saw  the  Boys'  Club 
standing  together,  on  guard,  and  he  gave  them  a 
short,  appreciative,  practical  speech. 

Some  of  the  speakers  at  the  Assembly  of  1905 


298      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

were  District  Attorney  William  Travers  Jerome  of 
New  York,  Governor  Joseph  W.  Folk  of  Missouri, 
the  Hon.  Robert  Watchorn,  Commissioner  of  Im- 
migration, President  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall  of 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary  of  New  York, 
recently  home  from  giving  addresses  in  India  and 
China  under  the  auspices  of  the  Parliament  of 
Religion,  President  Rush  Rhees  of  the  University 
of  Rochester,  President  Herbert  Welch  of  Ohio 
Wesleyan,  Dean  Charles  D.  Williams — on  his 
next  visit  to  be  a  Bishop — and  Dr.  Richard  Bur- 
ton. Mrs.  Bertha  Kunz  Baker,  Dr.  S.  H.  Clark, 
Mr.  Leland  Powers,  and  others  entertained  us 
with  readings  and  impersonations;  but  it  should 
also  be  said  that  the  leading  elocutionists  at  Chau- 
tauqua  made  it  a  large  part  of  their  task  to  ac- 
quaint us  with  great  literature,  both  in  poetry,  in 
prose,  and  especially  in  the  drama. 

In  1905  the  Colonnade  Building  was  built  and 
became  the  business  center  of  Chautauqua.  Dur- 
ing this  season  Mr.  Scott  Brown,  the  General 
Director  under  Principal  George  E.  Vincent,  called 
into  the  service  of  the  Chautauqua  Institution,  as 
assistant,  a  young  man  to  become  in  a  few  years 
his  successor,  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Bestor.  Mr.  Bestor 
also  began  lecturing  upon  the  platform  in  a  course 
on  "Studies  in  American  Diplomacy." 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     299 

In  the  report  of  the  year  1906,  I  notice  a  custom 
that  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time  this  year, 
though  it  may  have  been  observed  before.  On  the 
opening  night,  June  28,  signal  fires  were  lighted 
at  prominent  points  around  the  lake,  notifying 
the  summer  residents,  whose  cottages  by  this 
year  were  girdling  Lake  Chautauqua,  that  the 
Assembly  had  now  begun  for  another  season. 
This  illumination  has  been  followed  every  year 
since  1906,  and  appropriately  gives  notice  to  every 
village  between  Mayville  and  Jamestown  that  the 
light  of  Chautauqua  has  begun  to  shine. 

The  program  of  July  we  find  as  full  as  that  of 
August.  During  the  earlier  month  were  lectures 
and  addresses  by  Professor  F.  Hyatt  Smith  on 
1 '  Eminent  Englishmen  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  " 
— Coleridge,  Macaulay,  Carlyle,  Matthew  Arnold, 
and  others ;  literary  lectures  by  Leon  H.  Vincent, 
who  was  now  "Doctor  of  Letters,'*  Mr.  Henry 
Turner  Bailey,  head  of  the  Arts  and  Crafts,  but 
lecturer  on  many  subjects;  Newell  Dwight  Hillis 
of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn;  Dr.  W.  J.  Daw- 
son,  an  English  preacher  and  author  who  had 
lately  come  to  live  in  America,  equally  great  in 
the  pulpit  and  in  literature;  Dr.  S.  C.  Schmucker, 
one  who  could  make  a  scientific  subject  plain  to 
the  lay-mind;  Dr.  John  T.  McFarland,  head  of 


300      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

the  Sunday  School  work  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church;  Mrs.  Donald  McLean,  President- 
General  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Rev- 
olution, and  other  speakers. 

During  August  a  most  interesting  course  of 
lectures  was  given  by  Mr.  John  Graham  Brooks 
on  "America  Viewed  by  Outside  People" — 
showing  how  the  estimates  of  our  country,  es- 
pecially by  English  writers,  had  arisen  from 
almost  contemptuous  criticism  (much  of  it  de- 
served, it  must  be  admitted)  to  high  apprecia- 
tion. Mr.  Griggs  gave  a  new.  course  of  literary 
lectures.  Bishop  Vincent  gave  a  lecture  on  Martin 
Luther.  Prof.  Cecil  F.  Lavell  spoke  on  historical 
subjects.  Sir  Chentung  Lieng  Chang,  the  Am- 
bassador from  China,  graduate  of  an  American 
college,  Amherst,  I  think — was  a  visitor  and  spoke 
in  excellent  English.  Prof.  Edward  A.  Steiner, 
the  great  authority  on  immigration,  lectured  on 
"Our  Foreign  Population,"  and  told  a  remarkable 
story  of  a  journey  that  he  had  made  through 
underground  Russia,  visiting  nearly  a  hundred 
revolutionary  centers.  Mr.  Ernest  Thompson 
Seton  talked  on  wild  animals,  to  the  enjoyment  of 
both  young  and  old. 

On  Recognition  Day  of  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  August  15, 
1906,  the  new  Hall  of  Philosophy  was  dedicated. 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     301 

In  1907  Professor  George  E.  Vincent  was  made 
President  of  the  Chautauqua  Institution.  His 
father  retained  the  title  of  Chancellor,  but  the  ac- 
tive duties  of  the  management  were  now  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  the  President.  In  the  following 
year,  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Bestor  was  advanced  to  the 
place  formerly  held  by  Mr.  Scott  Brown,  that  of 
Senior  Director  in  charge  of  all  business  adminis- 
trations and  assisting  President  Vincent  on  the 
educational  side. 

A  man  who  made  his  mark  deeply  on  Chautau- 
qua came  this  year  for  the  first  time,  Mr.  Henry 
Turner  Bailey  of  the  Arts  and  Crafts  School.  He 
could  not  only  teach,  but  could  lecture  on  art  or 
history  in  a  most  fascinating  manner,  all  the  time 
drawing  pictures  on  the  blackboard  with  both 
hands  at  once.  Under  his  care  the  Arts  and 
Crafts  shops  were  assembled,  grew  into  a  village, 
and  later  found  their  home  in  a  series  of  fine  build- 
ings on  College  Hill.  He  continued  with  us  year 
after  year  until  a  new  position  in  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
compelled  him  to  sever  relations  with  Chautauqua. 

Two  great  conferences  were  held  this  summer. 
The  first  was  on  "The  Juvenile  Problem,"  July 
8th-i3th.  Speakers  on  the  subject  were  Rev.  W. 
Byron  Forbush  on  "The  Knights  of  King  Arthur," 
an  order  of  which  he  was  the  founder;  Mr.  W.  R. 


302      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

George,  on  "The  George  Junior  Republic ";  Judge 
Ben  B.  Lindsey  of  Denver  on  "The  Juvenile 
Court.**  Mr.  Melvil  Dewey,  Rev.  Crawford 
Jackson,  Judge  Willis  Brown  and  Mr.  E.  B. 
DeGrott  spoke  on  "Public  Playgrounds,"  "The 
Public  Library,"  "The  Child  and  the  State,"  and 
kindred  subjects. 

The  other  conference  was  held  July  29th  to 
August  3d,  on  "The  Social  Unrest."  A  few  of 
the  speakers  and  their  topics  were:  Mr.  John 
Graham  Brooks  on  "The  Challenge  of  Socialism"; 
Mr.  James  Wadsworth,  Jr.,  afterward  U.  S. 
Senator  from  New  York,  on  "Politics";  Mr.  R.  R. 
Bowker  on  "The  Corporation";  Mr.  Henry  Clews 
on  "Capital";  Mr.  J.  G.  Phelps  Stokes  and  his 
wife,  Rose  Pastor  Stokes,  on  "A  Defense  of  Social- 
ism"; Bishop  Henry  C.  Potter,  "The  Church"; 
Mr.  Charles  Stelzle,  "The  Church  and  the 
Classes";  Miss  Jane  Addams  on  "The  Settlement 
Movement.'* 

On  the  regular  lecture  platform  appeared 
Governor  Charles  E.  Hughes  of  New  York,  Mr. 
William  Jennings  Bryan  who  had  just  returned 
from  a  trip  around  the  world  and  spoke  on  "The 
Old  World  and  Its  Ways,"  President  G.  Stanley 
Hall  a  series  on  "Five  Non-Christian  Religions," 
President  George  E.  Vincent  on  "Utopias,"  a 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     303 

series  describing  the  ideals  of  men  for  the  com- 
munity and  the  state  from  Plato's  Republic  to 
the  Community  of  Robert  Dale  Owen.  Bishop 
Vincent  also  gave  a  lecture,  the  father  and  the  son 
speaking  on  different  days  from  the  same  platfrom. 
My  recollection  is  that  the  Bishop  spoke  this  sum- 
mer on  "Sidney  Lanier  and  His  Poetry ,"  and 
placed  him  high  on  the  roll  of  American  poets. 

Another  lecturer  who  pleased  us  all  was  the 
bright  essayist,  Samuel  McChord  Crothers.  His 
paper  on  "The  Society  for  Polite  Unlearning" 
was  heard  by  a  crowd  in  the  Hall  of  Philosophy. 
Most  of  the  audience  caught  the  undertone  of  wis- 
dom with  the  wit,  but  a  few  thought  that  it  was 
only  funny,  in  which  they  were  mistaken.  Dr. 
Shailer  Mathews,  Dr.  C.  F.  Aked,  and  Bishop 
McDowell  were  among  those  who  conducted  the 
daily  Devotional  Services. 

Grand  Army  Day  was  a  dramatic  occasion  in 
the  fact  that  before  an  audience  of  old  Union  sol- 
diers, in  their  G.  A.  R.  uniforms,  the  address  was 
given  by  Mrs.  LaSalle  Corbell  Pickett,  the  widow 
of  General  George  Edward  Pickett  of  the  Con- 
federate Army,  who  led  the  famous  "  Pickett 's 
Charge"  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg — an  attack 
that  stands  in  history  beside  the  "Charge  of  the 
Light  Brigade,"  sung  by  Tennyson.  Her  story 


304      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

of  that  great  day,  deciding  the  destiny  of  a  con- 
tinent, was  listened  to,  not  merely  with  interest, 
but  with  outbreaking  enthusiasm  by  an  audience 
of  Union  soldiers,  who  honored  the  memory  of  a 
soldier  whom  they  looked  upon  less  as  a  foe  than 
as  a  hero. 

One  little  incident  told  by  Mrs.  Pickett  we  must 
make  room  for;  in  substance  it  was  this:  On  Lee's 
march  through  Pennsylvania,  Pickett's  division 
passed  a  young  girl  who  waved  a  United  States 
flag,  and  then,  fastening  it  around  her  waist, 
cried,  " Traitors!  come  and  touch  this  flag  if  you 
dare!"  At  this  fierce  challenge,  a  mingled  stir  of 
many  voices  went  through  the  long  gray  ranks  and 
many  a  rifle  shifted  uneasily.  General  Pickett 
rode  in  front  of  his  men,  and  with  true  southern 
chivalry  saluted  her  flag.  Then  he  turned  and 
faced  his  men.  The  soldiers  followed  his  example, 
and  as  they  passed  by,  every  hat  was  swung  aloft 
in  honor  of  the  girl  and  her  flag.  The  little  maiden 
was  so  overcome  by  this  generosity  that  she  cried 
out,  "I  wish  I  had  a  rebel  flag;  I'd  wave  that  too!" 

In  October,  1907,  the  Colonnade  Building,  which 
had  been  standing  only  two  years,  was  wholly 
destroyed  by  fire,  causing  a  loss  of  $100,000,  with 
an  insurance  of  about  $55,000.  The  indirect  loss 
is  not  easy  to  estimate,  for  it  included  the  contents 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     305 

of  the  stores  and  the  issues  of  the  Magazine  ready 
for  mailing,  with  much  other  printed  matter  of  the 
Institution.  This  was  the  fourth  fire  which  had 
occurred  during  the  thirty -four  years  of  Chautau- 
qua;  a  remarkable  record  when  one  remembers 
how  close  together  are  many  of  the  houses,  and  all 
built  of  wood.  Plans  for  rebuilding  the  Colon- 
nade were  taken  up  immediately,  also  the  begin- 
ning of  a  quadrangle  of  buildings  for  the  Arts  and 
Crafts  Department  and  the  erection  of  a  Post 
Office  Building. 

In  1908  the  July  program  included  the  names  of 
Professor  J.  E.  McFadyen  of  Knox  College, 
Toronto,  Principal  James  Robertson  of  Scotland, 
and  Dr.  W.  L.  Watkinson  of  England ;  all  these  in 
the  Department  of  Religious  Work,  which  was  un- 
usually strong  that  year.  Dr.  Watkinson  looked 
the  least  like  an  Englishman  that  could  be  im- 
agined. Long  and  lank  and  lean,  he  might  have 
been  taken  for  a  Yankee  of  the  Yankees,  until  he 
began  to  speak.  His  oratory  is  indescribable, 
original  thoughts  expressed  in  original  language, 
with  here  and  there  a  solemn  witticism  at  which 
the  hearer  wanted  to  laugh  but  hardly  dared  to. 
Bishop  Vincent  gave  a  lecture  on  "An  Old  School 
House."  Dr.  H.  W.  Wiley,  the  food  specialist 
and  foe  of  misbranded  packages  of  food,  gave  an 


306      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

address.  Norman  Hapgood  of  Collier's  Magazine, 
Hon.  Everett  Colby  of  New  Jersey,  a  leader  in 
political  reform,  Prof.  Graham  Taylor,  a  sociolo- 
gist and  social  reformer,  were  among  the  speakers. 
In  August  of  1908,  a  notable  English  lady  spoke 
on  the  Amphitheater  platform,  Mrs.  Philip  Snow- 
den,  wife  of  a  member  of  Parliament.  It  was 
said  that  her  husband  owed  his  election  to  her 
power  of  public  speaking,  and  especially  to  her 
skill  in  answering  "heckling"  questions — a  politi- 
cal method  quite  common  in  England,  though 
regarded  as  not  quite  proper  in  America.  In 
our  country  when  one  party  holds  a  meeting,  it 
is  not  considered  fair  to  interrupt  the  flow  of 
oratory  and  disconcert  the  orator  by  disagree- 
able questions  from  the  other  side;  but  in  Great 
Britain  every  political  speaker  must  face  such 
enquirers,  and  the  one  who  put  them  to  little  Mrs. 
Snowden  generally  got  the  worst  of  the  encoun- 
ter. Though  slight  and  seemingly  fragile,  speak- 
ing apparently  without  effort,  every  syllable  of 
her  speeches  on  the  question  of  woman's  enfran- 
chisement could  be  distinctly  heard  from  every 
seat  in  the  Amphitheater.  Other  speakers  in 
August,  1908,  were  Lieut. -Governor  Chanler  of 
New  York,  Edward  Howard  Griggs,  Prof.  Charles 
M.  Cobern,  an  authority  on  Biblical  archaeology, 


ROOSEVELT  AT  CHAUTAUQUA     307 

Dr.  Leon  H.  Vincent  in  a  course  on  "French 
Literary  Celebrities,"  President  J.  D.  Moffatt  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  Pennsylvania, 
Charles  Stelzle  on  social  rights  and  wrongs,  and 
George  Riddle  in  some  enjoyable  recitations. 
Percy  Alden,  M.P.,  spoke  on  "Social  and  Eco- 
nomic Questions  "  in  England  and  Charles  F.  Lavell 
gave  a  course  on  historical  lectures.  Dr.  R.  S. 
MacArthur  and  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  were 
among  the  preachers  and  leaders  of  the  Devo- 
tional Hour. 

August  n,  1908,  was  Pennsylvania  Day,  with 
addresses  in  praise  of  the  Keystone  State  by 
Governor  E.  G.  Stuart,  Ex-Governor  and  General 
J.  A.  Beaver,  and  others. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST 
(I909-I9I2) 

THE  thirty-sixth  session  of  Chautauqua  was 
epoch  making  in  the  development  of  material 
resources.  The  blackened  ruins  of  the  burned 
Colonnade  Building  were  replaced  by  a  new 
structure,  the  official  headquarters  of  the  Institu- 
tion, the  business  center,  and  on  its  upper  floor 
a  rooming  place  for  many  employees  in  the  offices. 
On  the  southern  front  of  the  Plaza  arose  the  new 
Post  Office  Building,  with  the  village  public  library, 
the  presses  and  office  of  the  Chautauqua  Press. 
The  first  section  of  the  projected  Arts  and  Crafts 
quadrangle  was  built,  to  the  great  joy  of  Mr. 
Bailey,  who  had  labored  and  almost  fought  for 
its  construction.  The  Hall  of  Pedagogy  arose  at 
one  end  of  the  grounds  and  the  Athletic  Club 
House  at  the  other.  The  Hall  of  the  Christ  was 
completed  after  many  years  of  slow  growth,  and 
the  Commons,  a  boarding-place  for  students,  was 
opened  through  all  the  year  for  employees  residing 

308 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST       309 

during  the  winter.  As  a  venture,  with  some 
questioning,  the  New  York  Symphony  Orchestra 
was  engaged  for  a  week  of  concerts,  its  leader  being 
Walter  Damrosch.  Who  would  have  dreamed  in 
1909  that  in  1920  the  same  orchestra  would  sound 
its  harmonies  through  six  full  weeks ! 

The  keynote  of  the  year,  and  indeed  of  Chau- 
tauqua  through  all  its  history,  was  expressed  in 
President  George  E.  Vincent's  utterance  in  his 
annual  report — that  Chautauqua  must  "be  kept 
in  close  and  sympathetic  connection  with  the  great 
currents  of  national  life.  It  must  be  a  center 
from  which  the  larger  and  more  significant  move- 
ments may  gain  strength  and  intelligent  support. " 
The  season  this  year  opened  on  Friday,  July  2d, 
with  a  lecture  by  President  Vincent  on  "Vocation 
and  Culture." 

To  even  name  the  speakers  of  the  year  and  their 
subjects  would  necessitate  the  enlargement  of  our 
book,  and  to  omit  any  of  them  may  bring  the 
author  into  peril  of  his  life  if  he  should  meet  any  of 
those  left  out;  but  he  must  face  the  prospect  of  a 
martyr's  end,  by  naming  only  a  few.  President 
Edwin  Earle  Sparks,  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
College,  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  American 
history;  Prof.  Archer  B.  Hulbert  on  "The  Military 
Conquest  of  the  Alleghanies " ;  Prof.  Stockton 


310      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Axson  on  "Literary  Leaders";  Dr.  Andrew  Sloan 
Draper,  Superintendent  of  Education  for  New 
York  State,  spoke,  also  Prof.  George  Albert  Coe, 
Prof.  Clyde  W.  Votaw,  and  Dr.  Richard  M.  Hodge 
— these  four  on  subjects  relating  to  education; 
Mr.  Earl  Barnes  gave  a  course  of  lectures,  besides 
teaching  in  the  schools;  Booker  T.  Washington, 
President  Frank  R.  Sanders,  Dr.  P.  S.  Henson, 
Prof.  Henry  F.  Cope,  Mr.  Ernest  Hamlin  Abbott, 
of  The  Outlook ,  and  many  more  were  with  us  in 
July,  1908. 

In  August  we  heard  Prof.  Richard  Burton  in  a 
course  of  literary  lectures ;  Dr.  George  Adam  Smith, 
Richard  G.  Moulton,  and  J.  M.  Thoburn,  Jr.,  a 
nephew  of  Bishop  Thoburn,  also  Bishop  Samuel 
Fallows  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church, 
and  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  a  son  of  the  Har- 
vard President.  Mr.  S.  S.  McClure  gave  an  off- 
hand conversational  address  on  "The  Making  of  a 
Magazine,"  the  story  of  his  own  experience. 

The  Devotional  Hour  was  by  this  year  firmly 
fixed  in  the  Chautauqua  system.  The  Chaplain 
preached  on  Sunday  morning,  at  the  great  Amphi- 
theater service,  and  at  ten  o'clock  for  five  days 
following  gave  an  address  on  some  religious  topic. 
Among  our  chaplains  during  the  season  of  1908 
were  Dr.  Charles  E.  Jefferson  of  New  York,  Prof. 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST      311 

Herbert  L.  Willett  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
President  Herbert  Welch,  and  Dr.  R.  H.  Conwell. 
The  Recognition  address  to  the  graduating  class  of 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.  was  by  President  Faunce  of  Brown 
University  on  "Ideals  of  Modern  Education." 

This  year  a  course  in  Esperanto,  the  proposed 
world-language,  was  conducted,  and  the  second 
Esperanto  Congress  of  America  "was  held  at 
Chautauqua.  Not  having  studied  the  language 
and  being  too  busy  to  attend  the  convention,  the 
writer  is  unable  to  state  whether  the  lectures  were 
given  in  that  tongue  or  in  English,  the  inferior 
language  which  Esperanto  is  expected  to  displace. 
Probably  two  or  three  hundred  years  hence 
Shakespeare's  plays,  Milton's  poems,  and  Mark 
Twain's  stories  will  be  known  only  in  that  language, 
English  being  a  quarry  for  archaeological  research 
with  about  as  many  students  as  Greek  or  Sanscrit 
has  to-day. 

An  event  of  1901  which  attracted  crowds  from  all 
Chautauqua  County  and  its  surroundings  was  the 
historical  pageant  of  scenes  in  the  history  of  Chau- 
tauqua Lake.  It  included  scenes  from  the  Indian 
Wars  before  the  Revolution,  the  French  explorers, 
the  British  and  American  soldiers  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary period,  and  the  settlement  of  the  shores. 
This  was  followed  by  the  rendition  of  a  play,  The 


312      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Little  Father  of  the  Wilderness,  by  Francis  Wilson 
and  his  company.  The  concerts  of  the  preceding 
year  by  the  New  York  Symphony  Orchestra, 
under  Walter  Damrosch,  had  been  so  successful 
that  the  management  brought  them  for  a  second 
visit  in  1910. 

One  distinguished  visitor  in  1910  was  the  Right 
Honorable  James  Bryce,  Ambassador  of  Great 
Britain  to  our  country.  His  lecture  was  on 
1 '  History  and  Politics . "  Dr .  S .  M .  Crothers  gave 
four  lectures  in  his  own  inimitable  manner  on 
"The  One  Hundred  Worst  Books."  He  proposed 
as  an  interesting  question,  "Suppose  that  twenty 
centuries  hence,  when  the  English  language  may  be 
as  dead  as  Latin  and  Greek  are  now,  what  authors 
in  English  literature  will  be  remembered  ? "  '  Direc- 
tor Bestor  found  time  in  the  midst  of  his  labors 
to  give  us  a  fine  lecture  on  "Gladstone."  Paul 
Vincent  Harper,  son  of  President  Harper,  spoke  on 
1  *  Life  in  Palestine ' '  after  a  visit  to  that  land.  Dr. 
Griggs  gave  a  course  on  "Social  Progress."  Dis- 
tinguished visitors  from  the  old  country  were 
Sir  William  Ramsay,  the  highest  authority  in  the 
English-speaking  world  on  the  church  in  the  New 
Testament  age,  and  Lady  Ramsay.  Both 
lectured,  Lady  Ramsay  on  "The  Women  of  Tur- 
key." Mrs.  Philip  Snowden  gave  another  course 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST      313 

of  lectures,  maintaining  fully  her  popularity. 
She  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  suffrage  for  women 
but  as  strongly  opposed  to  the  methods  of  the  mili- 
tant suffragettes.  Another  speaker  who  attracted 
attention,  although  his  views  were  not  accepted  by 
the  majority  at  Chautauqua,  was  the  Secretary  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  Mr.  John  B. 
Lennon.  On  the  questions  pertaining  to  trade 
unions  and  collective  bargaining,  however,  one  who 
talked  with  the  Chautauqua  constituency  was 
surprised  to  find  so  large  a  number  of  progressive 
thinkers  taking  the  side  of  labor  against  capital. 

The  Chautauqua  Devotional  Hour  was  repre- 
sented in  the  season  of  1910  by  Dr.  Hugh 
Black,  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman,  Dr.  G.  A.  Johnston 
Ross,  and  Charles  D.  Williams,  who  was  now 
Bishop  of  Michigan. 

It  has  been  found  that  many  are  eager  to  enjoy 
the  advantages  of  the  Summer  Schools  at  Chau- 
tauqua who  are  unable  to  meet  the  expense. 
To  aid  these,  various  gifts  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time.  On  old  First  Night  in  1910  a  system 
of  fifty  annual  scholarships  was  established  by 
setting  apart  the  offering  of  that  evening  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  fund  has  since  been  increased 
from  year  to  year. 

In  1911,  the  Miller  Bell  Tower  at  the  Point 


314      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

beside  the  Pier  was  dedicated.  For  years  the 
chime  of  Meneely  bells  had  stood  in  the  belfry  of 
the  old  building  on  the  Pier.  But  the  piles 
beneath  it  were  becoming  decayed  and  the  bells 
by  their  weight  and  their  movement  racked  the  old 
edifice.  Their  removal  was  necessary  and  the 
Tower  was  built  adjoining  the  wharf.  A  fine  clock 
presented  by  the  Seth  Thomas  Clock  Company, 
and  the  chimes,  were  placed  in  the  summit  of  the 
Tower  which  received  the  name  ' '  Lewis  Miller  Bell 
Tower."  These  bells  ring  five  minutes  before  the 
lecture  hours,  and  at  certain  times,  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  the  chimes  play  familiar  music. 
After  the  night  bell,  which  may  be  either  at  10  or 
10.30,  silence  is  supposed  to  reign  throughout  the 
grounds.  One  of  the  original  peal  of  four  bells, 
afterward  enlarged  to  form  the  chime  of  ten  bells, 
is  named  the  Bryant  bell,  and  is  rung  precisely 
at  twelve  o'clock  noon  on  the  first  day  of  October 
as  a  signal  for  beginning  the  readings  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua  Circle.  The  name  is  in  honor  of  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  in  recognition  of  his  interest  in 
the  C.  L.  S.  C. 

During  the  season  of  1911  a  number  of  illus- 
trated lectures  were  given  by  Prof.  R.  W.  Moore 
on  "The  Rhine";  by  C.  L.  Harrington  on  "Aerial 
Navigation," — a  lecture  fully  up  to  date  at  that 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST      315 

time,  surprising  to  many  who  heard  it  and  looked 
at  the  pictures.  But  that  was  before  the  great 
war,  and  the  same  lecture  would  be  hopelessly 
behind  the  times  in  1921.  Mr.  Henry  Turner 
Bailey  showed  us  "A  Dozen  Masterpieces  of 
Painting,"  and  Mr.  Jacob  A.  Riis,  "The  Making  of 
an  American,"  Dr.  Henry  R.  Rose  exhibited 
"The  Oberammergau  Passion  Play,"  and  Dr.  H. 
H.  Powers,  "Venice."  Both  President  George  E. 
Vincent  and  Director  Arthur  E.  Bestor  gave 
lectures;  also  Edmund  Vance  Cooke  and  Mr. 
Earl  Barnes,  Mr.  Leland  Powers  impersonated 
stories  and  plays  as  nobody  else  could.  Mr. 
Frank  A.  Vanderlip  gave  three  lectures  on  "Bank- 
ing," which  proved  far  more  interesting  than 
most  of  us  had  anticipated.  Dr.  H.  H.  Powers 
told  in  a  series  of  lectures  the  stories  of  five  great 
cities,  Athens,  Rome,  Florence,  Paris,  and  London. 
Dr.  Gunsaulus  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  "Some 
of  the  Great  Plays  of  Shakespeare";  Prof.  S.  C. 
Schmucker,  a  series  mingling  science  with  history 
on  "American  Students  of  Nature, — Audubon, 
Agassiz,  Gray  and  Thoreau."  Dean  George 
Hodges  in  the  Department  of  Religion  lectured 
in  a  course  on  "Christian  Social  Betterment." 

Among  the  chaplains  of  1911  are  the  names  of 
Bishop  E.  E.  Hoss  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


316     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Church,  South,  Dr.  John  T.  Stone  of  Chicago,  Dr. 
Shailer  Mathews,  also  of  Chicago,  Dr.  C.  F.  Aked, 
then  a  pastor  in  San  Francisco,  and  Rev.  Silvester 
Home  of  England.  The  baccalaureate  sermon 
before  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  was  this  year  given  by  the 
Chancellor,  Bishop  Vincent. 

For  twenty- two  years  William  H.  Sherwood  was 
head  of  the  piano  department  in  the  schools  and 
untiring  in  his  labors.  He  died  in  1910,  and  in 
1912  the  Sherwood  Memorial  Studio  on  College 
Hill  was  opened  and  dedicated  to  his  memory. 
A  hospital,  long  needed,  was  this  year  established, 
named  "The  Lodge."  The  Department  of  Re- 
ligious Work  was  reorganized,  made  more  promi- 
nent, and  placed  under  the  charge  of  Dean  Shailer 
Mathews  as  "Director  of  Religious  Work."  The 
headquarters  of  this  department  were  established 
in  the  Hall  of  Christ. 

The  Independence  Day  address  was  given  by 
Director  Bestor  on  "The  Old  World  and  the  New," 
the  social,  political,  municipal,  religious  conception 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Two  stories  from 
his  lectures  are  worthy  of  being  repeated.  One 
was  Theodore  Roosevelt's  retort  when  accused 
of  wanting  to  become  a  king.  "A  king !  what  is  a 
king?  Why,  a  kind  of  perpetual  Vice-President.' ' 
The  other  was  a  conversation  that  Mr.  Bestor  had 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST       317 

with  an  Englishman  whom  he  met  in  Berlin.  He 
asked  "What  would  you  do  in  England  if  the  royal 
line  should  develop  a  William  II.  or  a  Roosevelt?*' 
The  Englishman  answered,  "Impossible!  A  man 
with  any  real  political  initiative  is  not  to  be 
thought  of  in  the  English  kingship!" 

For  the  first  time,  partisan  political  addresses 
were  given  on  the  Chautauqua  platform.  This 
was  the  year,  it  will  be  remembered,  when  Mr. 
Taft  had  been  renominated  by  the  regular  Re- 
publican Convention,  Mr.  Roosevelt  by  the  bolt- 
ing Progressives,  and  Woodrow  Wilson  by  the 
Democrats.  It  was  decided  to  allow  each  of  the 
parties  to  be  represented.  Attorney-General 
Wickersham  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  Republicans, 
Mr.  Eugene  W.  Chafin,  the  candidate  of  the 
Prohibition  Party,  addressed  a  crowded  Amphi- 
theater, and  seemed  to  give  everybody  great 
enjoyment  from  the  constant  laughter  and  ap- 
plause. He  said  after  the  election  that  if  every- 
body who  applauded  and  cheered  his  speeches  had 
voted  for  him,  he  would  have  been  President! 

But  the  great  audience  assembled,  packing  the 
Amphitheater  to  its  utmost  corner,  with  a  great 
ring  of  people  standing  around  it,  to  hear  William 
Jennings  Bryan.  On  account  of  an  afternoon 
lecture  in  Ohio,  he  sent  word  that  he  could  not 


318      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

arrive  until  8.45  in  the  evening,  and  it  was  nine 
when  at  last  he  stood  on  the  platform.  But  he 
held  the  crowd  in  rapt  attention  to  the  end  of  his 
plea  in  behalf  of  the  Democratic  Party  and  its 
candidate,  who  was  indebted  to  Mr.  Bryan  more 
than  to  any  other  worker  for  his  nomination  and, 
as  the  result  showed,  for  his  election.  I  am  not 
certain  who  spoke  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  but 
think  that  it  was  Mr.  William  H.  Prendergast, 
Comptroller  of  New  York  City. 

Among  the  lecturers  of  1912  we  heard  the 
Baroness  Von  Suttner,  who  had  taken  the  Nobel 
Peace  Prize  by  her  book  Lay  Down  Your  A  rms.  She 
gave  a  strong  plea  for  arbitration  between  nations, 
to  take  the  place  of  war.  There  was  also  a  lecture 
by  David  Starr  Jordan,  President  of  Leland 
Stanford  University,  on  "The  Case  Against  War," 
showing  conclusively  that  the  day  of  wars  was  past 
and  that  the  financial  interrelations  of  nations 
would  make  a  great  war  impossible.  How  little 
we  dreamed  of  the  war-cloud  within  two  years  to 
drench  the  whole  world  in  blood!  There  was, 
indeed,  one  warning  voice  at  this  Assembly,  that  of 
Mr.  H.  H.  Powers,  in  his  clear-sighted  lecture  on 
11  International  Problems  in  Europe."  He  did  not 
predict  war,  but  he  showed  from  what  causes 
a  great  war  might  arise.  There  was  a  debate  on 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  THE  PAST       319 

Woman  Suffrage.  Mrs.  Ida  Husted  Harper  gave 
several  lectures  in  its  behalf,  and  Miss  Alice  Hill 
Chittenden  on  "The  Case  Against  Suffrage." 
Professor  Scott  Nearing  gave  a  course  of  lectures 
on  social  questions,  showing  powerfully  the  evils 
of  the  time,  and  setting  forth  his  view  of  the 
remedy, — a  socialistic  reorganization  of  the  State 
and  of  society  in  general.  Some  conservative 
people  who  heard  Scott  Nearing  lecture,  regarded 
him  as  a  firebrand,  in  danger  of  burning  up  the 
national  temple,  but  those  who  met  him  in  social 
life  were  compelled  to  yield  to  the  charm  of  his 
personal  attractiveness.  Dr.  Leon  H.  Vincent 
gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  "Contemporary  Eng- 
lish Novelists."  He  began  in  the  Hall  of  Philos- 
ophy, but  was  compelled  to  move  into  the 
Amphitheater.  Mr.  Charles  D.  Coburn  of  the 
Coburn  Players  gave  a  careful,  critical  address, 
summing  up  fairly  the  good  and  evil,  on  "The 
Drama  and  the  Present  Day  Theater." 

The  Daily  Devotional  Service  in  the  Amphi- 
theater, and  the  addresses  on  "The  Awakened 
Church,"  in  the  Hall  of  Christ,  one  at  nine  o'clock, 
the  other  at  ten,  drew  large  congregations.  It 
could  not  be  said  that  Chautauqua  was  losing 
interest  in  religion,  Canon  H.  J.  Cody  of  Tor- 
onto gave  a  series  of  talks  on  "Bible  Portraits 


320      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

of  Persons  we  Know:  I,  The  Average  Man;  2,  The 
Man  in  the  Street;  3,  The  Man  who  Misapplies  the 
Past ;  4,  The  Man  who  is  Dying  of  Things" ;  Prof. 
Francis  S.  Peabody  of  Harvard  a  series  on  "  Chris- 
tian Life  in  the  Modern  World."  Bishop 
McDowell  (Methodist)  conducted  the  Hour  for  a 
week  to  the  great  spiritual  uplift  of  the  large  audi- 
ence. Dr.  Shailer  Mathews  gave  an  interesting 
series  on  "The  Conversations  of  Jesus,"  Dr. 
James  A.  Francis  a  course  on  "Evangelism." 

Realizing  how  many  worthy  names  I  have 
omitted,  I  close  regretfully  the  record  of  Chau- 
tauqua  in  1912. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS 
(I9I3-I9I6) 

THERE  have  been  visitors  at  Chautauqua  who, 
listening  to  some  of  the  lecturers  and  their  radical 
expressions,  were  alarmed  and  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  woods  were  full  of  cranks,  faultfinders  of 
the  general  social  order,  wild  agitators,  and  re- 
volutionary reformers  bent  on  reorganizing  the 
world.  Chautauqua  has  always  favored  the  freest 
discussion  of  all  subjects  and  has  admitted  to  its 
platform  spokesmen  upon  all  the  questions  of  the 
time  and  from  every  point  of  view,  even  some 
unpopular  men  airing  their  unpopular  ideas, 
confident  that  in  the  conflict  of  opinions  the  right 
will  triumph.  In  1913  the  living  question  under 
discussion  was  Socialism;  what  it  means,  its  posi- 
tive aims  and  the  arguments  both  for  and  against 
it.  Here  are  the  names  of  some  speakers  on  that 
controverted  subject.  Professor  Scott  Nearing, 
perhaps  the  most  radical  of  any,  spoke  on  "Social 
Sanity,"  although  his  conception  of  sanity  was 


322      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

looked  upon  by  many  as  absolutely  insane.  Mr. 
J.  W.  Bengough  explained  and  advocated  "The 
Single  Tax"  and  almost  converted  some  of  us  to 
his  doctrine.  Mrs.  Rose  Pastor  Stokes,  a  most 
winsome  speaker,  without  opinion  as  to  her  views, 
told  us  of  "The  Socialist's  Attitude  towards 
Charity,"  which  was  that  much  denominated 
charity  is  simple  justice.  Mr.  Victor  L.  Berger 
of  Milwaukee,  who  has  several  times  been  denied  a 
seat  in  Congress  to  which  he  was  elected  on  the 
Socialist  ticket,  stated  the  views  and  demands  of 
his  party.  Dr.  H.  H.  Powers  spoke  on  "Present 
Day  Socialism  in  Europe, ' '  John  Mitchell  gave  us 
' '  The  Trades-union  Point  of  View. ' '  Earl  Barnes 
took  part  in  the  discussion,  and  Dr.  Charles  R, 
Henderson  of  Chicago  also  touched  upon  it. 
Some  speakers  were  openly  for,  others  as  strongly 
against  the  movement.  Whether  the  Socialist 
Party  gained  voters  may  be  doubted,  but  it 
certainly  enjoyed  a  full  and  fair  hearing. 

Turning  from  politics  to  religion,  which  should 
have  a  more  intimate  friendship  than  most  people 
give  them,  we  notice  the  Devotional  Hour  during 
the  season  of  1913.  The  Chaplain  for  the  first 
week  was  Dr.  Charles  F.  Wishart  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Theological  Seminary,  his  addresses  being  on  "The 
Christian  View  of  Some  Facts  of  Life."  Dr.  Lynn 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS   323 

Harold  Hough,  then  a  Methodist  pastor  in  Balti- 
more, and  Rev.  Arthur  C.  Hill  of  London  were  on 
the  list.  Dr.  S.  M.  Crothers  of  Cambridge,  Mass., 
preached  one  Sunday  and  conducted  the  Devo- 
tional Hour  a  week  in  a  series  on  "Gaining  the 
Mastery."  Bishop  Williams  was  on  the  platform 
again,  speaking  on  "Aspects  of  Personal  Religion." 
Anyone  who  attended  this  service  through  the 
season — and  the  daily  congregation  was  not  far 
below  a  thousand — would  obtain  a  pretty  clear 
understanding  of  Christianity  and  the  character 
of  its  advocates. 

Every  year  the  musical  element  grows  at  Chau- 
tauqua.  There  was  this  year,  as  had  been  the  case 
for  several  seasons,  a  Musical  Festival  Week,  with 
daily  concerts.  For  many  years  there  had  been 
a  quartette  of  the  best  soloists  during  July  and 
another  during  August,  supported  by  a  chorus 
often  of  three  hundred  voices  and  the  great 
Massey  organ.  Henry  B.  Vincent,  who  is  the  son 
of  Dr.  B.  T.  Vincent  of  the  Children's  Class,  grew 
up  at  Chautauqua,  in  a  sense,  spending  his  summers 
there  from  early  childhood.  For  many  years  he 
has  been  at  the  organ  seat,  except  when  conduct- 
ing the  orchestra  which  he  organized  and  trained. 
In  1912  he  gave  an  interesting  course  of  lectures 
on  "How  to  Listen  to  Music."  Every  Sunday 


324      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

afternoon  a  large  audience  assembles  to  hear  Mr. 
Vincent  for  an  hour  in  an  organ  recital.  An 
oratorio  of  his  composition  and  under  his  direction 
was  given  at  Chautauqua  some  years  ago,  entitled 
"The  Prodigal  Son."  With  one  Vincent  Founder 
and  Chancellor,  his  son  the  President,  one  nephew 
a  lecturer  every  year  or  two  on  literature,  the  other 
nephew  the  organ  and  band  master,  and  his  mother 
the  President  of  the  Woman's  Club  for  many  years, 
the  Vincent  family  has  been  worthily  represented 
at  Chautauqua. 

While  speaking  of  music  we  must  not  forget  one 
course  of  lectures  by  Mr.  Olin  Downes,  musical 
critic  of  the  Boston  Post,  on  "Musical  Expression 
in  Dramatic  Form,"  a  history  of  the  music  drama 
in  general;  early  French  operas;  the  German 
Romantic  School;  Richard  Wagner;  Verdi  and 
Latter-day  Italians. 

Prof.  Richard  Burton  gave  an  entire  course  of 
lectures  on  "The  Serious  Bernard  Shaw,"  which 
caused  a  run  upon  the  library  for  Shaw's  writings, 
as  I  perceived,  for  I  vainly  sought  them.  Miss 
Maud  Miner  of  the  School  of  Expression  gave 
some  recitals  and  a  lecture,  packed  full  of  sug- 
gestions on  "Efficiency  in  Speech."  Dr.  George 
Vincent  spoke  to  a  crowded  Amphitheater  on  "A 
National  Philosophy  of  Life."  A  Serbian,  Prince 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    325 

Lazarovich  Hvebelianovich,  gave  a  lurid  picture 
of  the  Balkan  situation.  Let  me  quote  one 
sentence  as  reported  in  the  Daily  of  July  II,  1913 
(note  the  date) : 

"Within  the  next  few  months  there  will  be  a 
war;  and  such  a  war  as  has  not  stirred  Europe  since 
the  days  of  Napoleon ;  a  war  that  will  involve  all 
the  principal  nations  on  that  side  of  the  Atlantic." 

Less  than  thirteen  months  after  that  prediction 
came  the  event  in  the  capital  of  his  own  little 
nation  which  let  loose  twenty  millions  of  armed 
men,  filled  the  seas  with  warships,  above  and  be- 
neath the  waves,  and  the  skies  with  fighting 
aeroplanes. 

Mrs.  Percy  V.  Pennybacker  of  Texas,  gave  a 
series  of  addresses  on  the  Federation  of  Woman's 
Clubs,  of  which  she  was  at  that  time  the 
President.  We  listened  to  a  Chinaman,  Ng  Poon 
Chew,  the  editor  of  a  Chinese  daily  paper  in  San 
Francisco,  on  "China  in  Transformation,"  a  clear 
account  of  the  new  Republic  of  China  in  its  varied 
aspects,  spoken  in  the  best  of  English.  We 
noticed  too,  that  the  speaker  showed  an  under- 
standing and  appreciation  which  foreigners  are 
often  slow  to  obtain  of  American  humor  and 
jokes. 

Another  lecturer  from  abroad,  though  hardly 


326      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

a  foreigner,  for  he  came  from  England,  Prof.  J. 
Stoughton  Holborn,  wearing  his  Oxford  gown 
(which  we  had  not  seen  before  at  Chautauqua), 
gave  a  course  on  "The  Inspiration  of  Greece," — 
a  view  of  that  wonderful  people  in  the  different 
fields  of  their  greatness.  Think  of  one  city  which 
in  the  departments  of  literature,  drama,  philos- 
ophy, oratory,  art,  and  public  affairs  could  show 
more  great  men  in  two  hundred  years  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  world  could  show  in  two  thousand ! 

We  were  treated  during  the  season  of  1913  to  a 
sight  new  at  that  time,  though  common  enough 
now.  Mr.  Engels  brought  to  Chautauqua  a 
Curtiss  hydroplane,  and  day  after  day  made 
flights,  skimming  over  the  surface  of  the  lake, 
rising  into  the  air,  circling  the  sky  and  returning 
to  the  starting-point,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
watching  multitudes.  A  few,  and  but  a  few,  dared 
to  be  strapped  into  the  machine  and  take  the 
flight;  Director  Bestor  was  one  of  them,  and  when 
Mrs.  Bestor  heard  of  it  she  said:  "I  told  him  that 
he  must  not  do  it,  but  I  knew  all  the  time  that  he 
would!" 

Another  event  of  the  season  was  the  production 
of  a  Greek  play,  in  the  original  language,  by  a 
group  of  college  students  in  Greek  costume. 
Another  fact  worthy  of  remembrance  was  the 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    327 

opening  of  a  completely  furnished  playground  for 
the  children  in  the  ravine  near  the  ball-ground. 
To  stand  on  the  bridge  and  look  down  upon  that 
company  of  happy  little  people,  is  always  a  delight. 
Also  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  this  year  for 
the  first  time  natural  gas  for  cooking  and  heating 
was  supplied  throughout  the  grounds. 

The  year  1914  was  the  fortieth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  Chautauqua.  One  of  the  Found- 
ers was  with  us,  hale  and  hearty,  and  still  able  to 
give  an  admirable  address,  although  his  memory  of 
recent  matters  and  people  had  failed.  The  other 
Founder  was  no  longer  among  us,  and  even  fifteen 
years  after  his  departure  we  of  the  earlier  days 
missed  him;  but  his  memory  will  ever  be  kept 
green  at  Chautauqua,  while  the  white  lilies  are 
silently  unfolded  in  his  honor.  On  Friday,  July 
3d,  the  signal  fires  were  lighted  all  around  the 
Lake.  The  celebration  of  the  anniversary  did  not 
take  place  until  August,  near  the  date  in  the  month 
of  the  first  Assembly.  On  Sunday,  August  2d, 
Bishop  Vincent  preached  in  the  Amphitheater  with 
scarcely  any  lessening  of  his  old  power.  At  the 
anniversary  service,  Dr.  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut — who 
was  exhibited  as  one  of  the  survivals  of  the  pre- 
historic age,  a  sort  of  a  dinosaurus  or  pleiosaurus, 
— gave  an  address  on  "Memories  of  Early  Days," 


328      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

of  which  the  reader  may  find  the  substance  scat- 
tered through  these  pages.  But  we  must  give  a 
paragraph  or  two  from  Mrs.  Frank  Beard's  paper 
In  reference  to  the  interdenominational  aspect  o| 
the  Assembly,  she  said : 

The  good  Baptist  brother,  wandering  down  by  the 
Dead  Sea  and  Sea  of  Galilee  to  the  Mediterranean, 
looked  at  the  generous  supply  of  water  and  was 
satisfied.  The  Presbyterian  brother  gazed  into  the 
cloudless  sky  above  him,  saw  his  favorite  color,  and 
felt  that  Chautauqua  was  foreordained  for  him.  The 
lineal  descendant  of  St.  Peter  croqueted  his  ball 
through  the  arch  and  rejoiced  that  he  was  on  saving 
ground. 

We  sat  on  the  hard  board  seats  with  nothing  to 
rest  our  backs  upon  but  the  salubrious  atmosphere. 
We  heard  ponderous  speakers  who  talked  on  ponder- 
ous subjects.  Among  the  speakers  was  Joseph 
Cook,  also  Bishop  Peck,  350  pounds.  Some  of  the 
lecturers  were  recommended  as  cultured  and  highly 
finished.  Mr.  Beard  said  that  he  had  attended  these 
lectures,  was  glad  that  they  were  cultured  and  more 
than  pleased  that  they  were  finished. 

The  music  week  had  now  become  a  permanent 
institution,  bringing  thousands  to  the  Assembly. 
This  year  it  began  on  Monday,  July  27th,  with 
Victor  Herbert's  orchestra  through  the  seven  days, 
the  Chautauqua  soloists,  and  the  great  chorus 
trained  by  Alfred  Hallam.  Some  musical  associ- 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    339 

ations  from  Jamestown  and  elsewhere  added  their 
voices. 

Among  the  lecturers,  Mr.  Griggs  gave  a  course 
on  ' '  Dramas  of  Protest,"  the  Book  of  Job,  Shelley's 
"Prometheus  Unbound,"  Galsworthy's  ''Justice," 
Calderon's  "Life  is  a  Dream,"  and  some  others. 
Bourke  Cockran,  the  brilliant  orator  of  Irish  de- 
scent, gave  a  great  lecture  on  "Abraham  Lincoln 
—Original  Progressive."  Miss  Mary  E.  Downey, 
Director  of  the  Library  School,  spoke  on  "The 
Evolution  of  the  Library,"  Dean  Edwin  Watts 
Chubb  on  "Shakespeare  as  a  Moral  Teacher." 
John  Purroy  Mitchel,  the  reform  Mayor  of  New 
York,  spoke  on  "Municipal  Government"  on 
July  1 8th;  Dr.  Lincoln  Hulley  of  Florida  gave  a 
course  on  the  leading  American  poets.  Mr.  E.  H. 
Blichfeldt  spoke  most  interestingly  on  "Mexico 
as  I  Know  It,"  the  results  of  a  year  of  wide  travel 
and  close  observation  in  that  land. 

During  the  month  of  July  we  read  in  the  papers 
of  complications  in  the  political  world  beyond 
the  ocean,  but  few  looked  for  serious  trouble  and 
none  for  actual  war.  On  the  first  of  August,  1914, 
the  storm  burst,  and  nation  after  nation  in  a  few 
hours  assembled  their  hosts  for  the  most  terrible 
war  in  the  history  of  the  world.  In  accordance 
with  the  Chautauqua  tradition  of  free  and  open 


330      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

discussion,  a  War  Symposium  was  improvised  and 
each  of  the  contending  nations  had  its  speaker. 
On  Tuesday,  August  4th,  Dr.  Hans  E.  Gronow 
who  had  served  his  time  in  the  German  army  gave 
''The  German  Point  of  View.'*  On  Thursday, 
August  6th,  Mr.  Sanford  Griffith,  a  newspaper 
correspondent  and  a  student  of  public  affairs 
spending  several  years  in  Europe  whom  some  of  us 
had  known  as  a  boy  at  Chautauqua,  spoke  on 
"European  Unrest  Due  to  Shifts  in  the  Balance  of 
Power."  On  Friday,  August  7th,  Mons.  Benedict 
Papot,  formerly  a  soldier  in  France,  gave  "The 
French  Point  of  View,"  and  on  Saturday,  August 
9th,  Dr.  W.  S.  Bainbridge,  English  in  ancestry 
but  American  in  birth  and  spirit,  presented  "The 
British  Point  of  View."  All  the  exercises  of  the 
crowded  program  were  held,  but  amid  all  our 
efforts  the  war  brooded  above  us,  a  darkening 
cloud. 

The  Department  of  Religious  Work  was  carried 
on  with  a  strong  force  of  speakers  and  teachers 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Shailer  Mathews,  its 
details  supervised  by  his  efficient  assistant,  Miss 
Georgia  L.  Chamberlin  of  Chicago,  who  also 
gave  daily  lectures.  Among  the  instructors  were 
Dr.  Charles  F.  Kent  of  Yale,  and  Dr.  James  Hope 
Moulton,  one  of  the  richest  minds  of  the  age  in 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    331 

Biblical  lore,  who  gave  a  series  of  lectures,  learned 
yet  simple,  on  "The  Origins  of  Religion."  None 
of  us  could  have  thought  then  that  this  noble  life 
in  its  prime  was  destined  to  end  in  the  Mediterran- 
ean by  a  shot  from  a  German  submarine. 

The  Devotional  Hour  and  the  Sunday  services 
were  led  for  a  week  by  the  Rev.  C.  Rexford  Ray- 
mond of  Brooklyn,  who  told  in  several  chapters  the 
old  story  of  Joseph,  yet  seeming  new  in  its  appli- 
cation. The  Rev.  G.  Robinson  Lees,  Vicar  of  St. 
Andrews,  Lambeth,  England,  who  had  lived  in 
Palestine  and  among  the  Arabs  in  the  desert,  had 
written  a  book  forbidden  by  the  Turkish  author- 
ities, and  had  been  banished  from  the  land, 
preached  one  Sunday  morning  and  gave  graphic 
pictures  of  Oriental  life  through  the  week.  Dr. 
W.  H.  Hickman,  a  former  President  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua  Board  of  Trustees,  Rev.  Peter  Ainslie  of 
Baltimore,  Dr.  C.  F.  Wishart,  Dr.  Washington 
Gladden,  one  who  was  ever  welcome  at  Chautauqua ; 
and  a  great-hearted  man,  Dr.  George  W.  Truett 
of  Texas,  were  also  chaplains,  each  serving  a  week. 

This  year  also  the  new  golf  course  was  opened 
on  the  field  beyond  the  public  highway,  to  the 
rejoicing  of  many  patrons.  At  the  close  of 
the  season  the  annual  convention  was  held  by 
the  International  Lyceum  and  Chautauqua  Associ- 


332      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ation,  the  union  of  bureaus  and  speakers  in  the 
"Chain  Chautauquas"  held  all  over  the  continent, 
of  which  we  shall  speak  later.  Their  meetings 
were  continued  until  September  loth,  making 
1914  the  longest  session  in  the  history  of 
Chautauqua. 

In  1915,  the  war  of  the  world  was  bringing  its 
unspeakable  terrors  to  Europe,  and  America  was 
looking  on,  yet  hesitating  to  plunge  into  the  welter; 
but  Chautauqua  held  on  its  even  way,  its  courses 
of  instruction  as  many,  and  its  classes  as  large  as 
ever.  This  year  Dr.  George  E.  Vincent  felt 
constrained  by  the  pressure  of  his  duties  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  with  its  eight 
thousand  students  and  as  large  a  number  in  its 
University  Extension  courses,  to  withdraw  from 
the  direct  supervision  of  Chautauqua.  He  re- 
signed his  office  as  President  of  the  Chautauqua 
Institution,  and  Dr.  Arthur  E.  Bestor  became 
President.  But  Dr.  Vincent  retained  his  member- 
ship on  the  Board  of  Trustees,  was  named  Honor- 
ary President,  and  has  continued  to  come  to 
Chautauqua  almost  every  year.  Even  for  a  few 
days,  and  with  a  lecture  or  two,  his  presence  gives 
strength  to  the  Assembly. 

In  1917,  Dr.  Vincent  resigned  the  presidency 
of  the  University  of  Minnesota  to  accept  the  same 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    333 

position  with  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  disburs- 
ing millions  of  dollars  every  year  in  the  interests  of 
world-wide  education  and  health. 

The  lecture  platform  of  1915  was  arranged  under 
six  great  weeks,  each  making  prominent  one  sub- 
ject, while  popular  addresses  and  the  devotional 
services  went  on  parallel  with  them  all.  The 
first  week  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  community 
service.  Mary  An  tin,  whose  book,  The  Promised 
Land,  had  been  read  by  everybody,  was  greeted  by 
an  audience  far  beyond  the  reach  of  her  voice, 
speaking  in  her  ardent  manner.  Dr.  Lincoln 
Wirt  proclaimed  "America's  Challenge  to  the 
World";  Mr.  E.  J.  Ward  explained  the  why  and 
the  how  of  "Community  Service,"  and  Norman 
Angell  set  forth  "American  Leadership  in  World 
Politics."  During  this  week  Chancellor  McCor- 
mick  of  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  conducted 
the  services  of  the  Devotional  Hour. 

The  second  week  was  devoted  to  the  Drink 
Problem.  Bishop  Francis  J.  McConnell  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  preached  on  Sunday 
morning  and  spoke  at  the  Devotional  Hour  each 
day.  The  opening  address  was  by  Governor 
George  A.  Carlson  of  Colorado,  who  set  forth 
powerfully  the  methods  and  results  of  prohibition 
in  his  State.  Dr.  H.  A.  Gibbons  spoke  on  "The 


334     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Prohibition  Question  in  Europe."  The  Hon.  J. 
Denny  O'Neill,  on  "Booze  and  Politics."  While 
the  temperance  question  was  discussed  in  the  Hall 
of  Philosophy,  there  were  concerts  and  lectures  in 
the  Amphitheater,  one  especially  by  Mr.  Sanford 
Griffith,  who  had  been  at  the  battle  front  as  a  war 
correspondent,  on ' '  Fighting  in  Flanders. ' '  Also  Dr. 
Hamilton  Wright  Mabie,  editor  and  essayist,  spoke 
on  "The  East  and  West,  Friends  or  Enemies?" 

The  third  week  was  entitled  "Justice  and  the 
Courts" — with  such  subjects  as  law,  legislation, 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  penology. 
Among  the  speakers  were  George  W.  Alger, 
Thomas  Mott  Osborne,  Katharine  Bement  Davis, 
Judge  W.  L.  Ransom  of  New  York,  and  Dean 
James  Parker  Hall  of  the  University  of  Chicago 
Law  School.  Mr.  Charles  Rann  Kennedy,  author 
of  The  Servant  in  the  House,  a  drama  with  a  sermon, 
recited  the  play,  aided  by  Mrs.  Kennedy.  The 
play  had  already  been  read  a  year  or  two  before  by 
Mrs.  Bertha  Kunz  Baker,  and  also  enacted  by  the 
Chautauqua  Players,  so  that  we  were  familiar  with 
it,  but  were  eager  to  hear  it  recited  by  its  author. 
Mr.  Kennedy  also  gave  some  dramatic  interpre- 
tations from  the  Bible.  This  week  the  Devotional 
Hour  was  held  by  Dr.  Charles  W.  Gilkey,  of  the 
Hyde  Park  Baptist  Church  in  Chicago,  the  church 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    335 

nearest  to  the  University  and  attended  by  many  of 
the  faculty  and  students. 

The  music  week  was  notable  from  the  presence 
of  the  Russian  Symphony  Orchestra,  led  by  a 
great  player  and  delightful  personality,  Modest 
Altschuler.  One  of  his  company  said  of  him, 
"He  rules  his  orchestra  by  love."  The  Recogni- 
tion Address  this  year  was  by  President  E.  B. 
Bryan  of  Colgate  University,  on  the  all-important 
question:  "Who  are  Good  Citizens?" 

The  forty -third  Assembly  in  1916  found  our 
country  in  the  throes  of  a  presidential  election, 
party  strife  bitter,  and  the  nation  divided  on  the 
impending  question  of  our  entrance  into  the  world 
war.  The  feverish  pulse  of  the  time  was  mani- 
fested in  the  opinions  expressed  by  the  different 
speakers.  Dr.  George  E.  Vincent  gave  a  lecture 
on  "What  is  Americanism" — a  sane,  thoughtful 
view  which  was  needed  in  that  hour. 

The  week  beginning  Sunday,  July  23d,  was 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  Preparedness  for  War  or 
Peace.  The  Ford  Peace  Expedition  of  that  year 
will  be  remembered,  the  effort  of  a  wealthy  manu- 
facturer to  stop  the  war.  Several  who  had  taken 
part  in  that  apparently  quixotic  movement  spoke 
in  defense  or  criticism  of  it,  and  also  the  question 
of  preparedness  was  discussed  by  Governor  Charles 


336     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

S.  Whitman,  President  Hibben  of  Princeton,  Hon. 
Henry  A.  Wise  Wood,  Senator  W.  M.  Calder, 
and  others.  Mrs.  Lucia  Ames  Ward,  of  the 
Woman's  Peace  Party,  was  opposed  to  any 
participation  in  the  war  or  preparation  for  it. 
The  controversy  waxed  warm,  for  the  opinions 
were  positive  on  both  sides. 

On  subjects  aside  from  the  war  we  had  an 
enlightening  series  of  addresses  at  the  Devotional 
Hour  by  Dean  Charles  R.  Brown  of  Yale ;  a  course 
of  lectures  by  Dr.  Edwin  E.  Slosson  on  "  Major 
Prophets  of  To-day,"  Bernard  Shaw,  G.  K. 
Chesterton,  H.  G.  Wells,  and  some  others;  a  series 
of  lectures  by  Dr.  Percy  F.  Boynton  on  "The 
Growth  of  Consciousness  in  American  Literature," 
— as  shown  in  Irving,  Cooper,  Emerson,  Lowell, 
and  Whitman.  Raymond  Robins  gave  four  lec- 
tures on  "The  Church  and  the  Laboring  Classes." 
Dr.  Griggs  awakened  general  interest  by  his  lec- 
tures on  "Types  of  Men  and  Women,"  as  illus- 
trated in  their  autobiographies  and  letters,  present- 
ing John  Stuart  Mill,  Benevenuto  Cellini,  George 
John  Romanes,  Marie  Bashkirtseff ,  Sonya  Kovale- 
vasky  (a  new  name  to  most  of  us),  and  Henri 
Frederic  Amiel, — all  possessing  characters  pro- 
nounced, some  of  them  so  peculiar  as  to  be  almost 
abnormal. 


WAR  CLOUDS  AND  WAR  DRUMS    337 

The  Russian  Symphony  Orchestra,  with  its 
beloved  director,  Modest  Altschuler,  was  with  us 
again  for  another  week,  aided  by  the  soloists  and 
Chautauqua  Chorus.  In  our  rapid  survey,  we 
have  only  glanced  at  the  prominent  events  in  a 
great  season. 

aa 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH 
(I9I7-I920) 

WHEN  the  forty-fourth  session  of  Chautauqua 
opened  on  Thursday,  June  26,  1917,  it  found  the 
American  republic  just  entering  upon  the  Great 
War,  which  had  already  raged  in  Europe  for  over 
two  years.  Training  camps  had  sprung  up  like  magic 
all  over  the  land,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  young 
men  by  the  hundred  thousand  had  volunteered, 
with  others  by  the  million  soon  cheerfully  to  accept 
drafting  orders.  Almost  every  university  had 
been  transformed  into  a  war  college.  President 
Vincent  was  at  the  intensive  military  training 
school  at  Plattsburg,  N.  Y.  Every  morning  before 
breakfast  two  hundred  men  at  Chautauqua  were 
marching  and  counter-marching,  and  learning  the 
manual  of  arms  with  wooden  guns,  with  President 
Bestor  and  most  of  the  officials  of  the  Institution 
in  the  lines.  The  young  women  every  afternoon 
were  receiving  similar  drill  under  a  woman  officer, 
and  some  said  that  they  presented  even  a  more 

338 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        339 

soldier-like  appearance  than  the  men.  The  head- 
quarters of  several  denominations  had  been  com- 
mandeered for  Red  Cross  work  and  training.  A 
stranger  could  scarcely  get  into  the  Methodist 
House  without  being  scrutinized  as  a  possible 
German  spy,  with  a  pocketful  of  poison  or  pow- 
dered glass  to  sprinkle  on  the  bandages.  War  was 
in  the  air  as  well  as  in  the  newspapers.  No  matter 
what  was  the 'subject  of  a  lecture  it  was  almost  sure 
to  be  on  the  war  before  the  finish.  There  were 
discussions  on  the  platform  and  on  the  street  about 
the  League  of  Nations,  some  with  President  Wilson 
in  favor  of  it,  others  as  vigorously  against  it.  A 
symposium  on  "Our  Country"  and  a  conference  of 
"Organizations  Engaged  in  Education  for  Patri- 
otic Service  "  were  held  during  the  session;  also  a 
company  of  students  from  the  Carnegie  Institute 
of  Technology,  Pittsburgh,  presented  a  brilliant 
pageant,  "The  Drawing  of  the  Sword." 

The  Fourth  of  July  address  was  given  by  the 
Hon.  G.  W.  Wickersham,  former  Attorney-General 
of  the  United  States.  Captain  A.  Radclyfle  Dug- 
more  of  the  British  Army  spoke  on  "Our  Fight 
for  Freedom."  Miss  Ida  Tarbell,  who  had  won 
fame  by  a  book  showing  the  operations  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  and  had  also  written  a 
life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  to  be  found  in  every 


340     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

public  library  and  read  more  widely  than  any  other 
biography  of  the  Greatest  American,  gave  some 
lectures.  Her  literary  life,  by  the  way,  began 
in  the  office  of  the  Chautauguan  Magazine.  Mrs. 
Percy  V.  Pennybacker  this  summer  became  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chautauqua  Woman's  Club,  which 
office  Mrs.  B.  T.  Vincent  had  relinquished  after 
many  years  of  leadership.  Both  these  presidents 
were  eminently  successful  in  different  directions 
and  by  different  methods,  the  earlier  having  built 
up  the  Club  by  wisdom  mingled  with  gentleness ; 
her  successor  carried  it  onward  by  an  energy 
that  brought  everybody  into  willing  subjection  to 
her  far-reaching  plans.  Almost  the  first  result  of 
the  new  administration  was  the  purchase  of  a  club 
house  fronting  on  the  Lake,  and  holding  in  it 
almost  a  bewildering  series  of  teas  and  receptions. 
While  the  public  meetings  of  the  Club  crowded 
the  new  Hall  of  Philosophy  every  afternoon,  Mrs. 
Pennybacker  gave  a  stirring  address  on  "What  our 
Country  Asks  of  its  Young  Women." 

During  the  first  week  Dr.  Harry  Emerson  Fos- 
dick  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  was  the 
Chaplain,  and  his  addresses  blended  fervent 
patriotism  and  fervent  religion  in  about  equal 
measure. 

The  second  week,  from  July  8th  to  I4th,  was 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        341 

denominated  "Arts  and  Letters,"  with  lectures 
on  these  subjects  by  Dr.  Mitchell  Carroll  of  Wash- 
ington, Henry  Turner  Bailey  of  Boston,  and  others. 
But  underneath  the  artistic  and  the  literary,  the 
echo  of  the  war  might  still  be  heard  in  many  of  the 
lectures,  and  it  sounded  out  in  the  Devotional 
Hour  addresses  of  that  soldier  in  the  army  of  the 
Lord,  the  Chaplain,  Bishop  Charles  D.  Williams. 

During  the  week  of  July  I5th  to  2 1st,  the  Meth- 
odist Bishop,  William  Burt  of  Buffalo,  to  whose 
"area"  (for  Methodists  of  course  could  not  call  it  a 
"diocese")  Chautauqua belongs,  was  the  Chaplain. 
During  this  week  we  heard  lectures  by  Admiral 
Peary,  the  discoverer  of  the  North  Pole;  by 
Thomas  Adams  of  Canada;  by  D.  R.  Garland  of 
Ohio;  by  D.  A.  Reed  of  Michigan,  and  by  George 
A.  Bellamy  of  Cleveland. 

July  22d-28th  was  Musical  Festival  Week, 
when  we  had  with  us  once  more  the  Russian 
Symphony  Orchestra,  conducted  by  Modest  Alt- 
schuler,  who  was  welcomed  with  sincere  rejoicing 
by  Chautauqua's  multitude.  Looking  over  the 
crowded  Amphitheater  during  those  daily  con- 
certs, the  only  reminder  of  a  war  in  progress  was 
that  scarcely  a  young  man  was  to  be  seen,  although 
every  seat  was  occupied. 

From  July  2Qth  to  August  4th,  the  Great  War 


342      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

was  the  theme  on  the  platform.  Mr.  Earl  Barnes 
gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  "Historical  Back- 
grounds of  the  War,"  respectively  in  the  British 
Empire,  France,  Germany,  Austro-Hungary,  the 
Russian  Empire,  and  the  Balkan  Peninsular.  Dr. 
Herbert  Adams  Gibbons  presented  some  of  the 
"Problems  of  the  Peace  Conference," — though  at 
that  time  nobody  knew  when  the  Conference 
would  be  held  or  whether  anybody  would  be  left 
alive  to  hold  it.  But  the  cheerful  assumption 
was  taken  that  Germany  would  be  beaten,  which 
proved  to  be  correct,  and  also  that  the  Allies 
would  rearrange  the  map  of  the  world,  which  does 
not  now  appear  to  be  quite  certain.  Mr.  Sanford 
Griffith,  just  from  the  front,  gave  us  an  inspiring 
word-picture  of  " Paris  Reborn." 

The  concluding  address  of  the  symposium  was 
given  by  President  Bestor  on  "America  and  the 
War."  It  was  considered  by  the  National  Secu- 
rity League  as  of  sufficient  value  to  be  published  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  received  a  wide  circulation. 

From  August  I3th  to  i8th,  Bishop  Charles  B. 
Mitchell  (Methodist  Episcopal),  living  at  Minne- 
apolis, held  the  post  of  Chaplain,  and  gave  a 
number  of  heart  warming  addresses  on  * '  The  Trans- 
forming Power  of  Divine  Grace."  During  the 
week  the  Recognition  Day  exercises  were  held, 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        343 

with  all  pomp  and  ceremonial,  the  address  being 
given  by  President  George  E.  Vincent.  His  father 
was  present  and  that  afternoon,  as  Chancellor, 
gave  the  diplomas  to  the  graduates,  but  none  of  us 
knew  that  it  was  for  the  last  time,  and  that  his 
face  would  not  be  seen  again  at  Chautauqua,  al- 
though he  lived  nearly  three  years  longer. 

In  1917,  President  E.  B.  Bryan  of  Colgate 
University  accepted  the  position  as  Director  of  the 
Summer  Schools.  But  to  one  who  through  the 
rest  of  the  year  has  a  college  full  of  students  to 
keep  in  order,  and  also  a  faculty  to  maintain  in 
harmony — which  one  college  president  told  me  he 
found  the  harder  task, — the  burden  at  Chau- 
tauqua of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  teachers, 
two  hundred  courses  of  study,  and  forty-five 
hundred  students  during  nearly  all  his  summer 
vacation,  proved  too  heavy  even  for  Dr.  Bryan's 
shoulders,  and  after  three  years,  in  1919,  he  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  it  into  the  hands  of 
President  Bestor. 

This  summer,  also,  the  new  traction  station  of 
the  Chautauqua  Lake  Railway  was  opened  at 
the  highway  entrance  to  the  grounds ;  a  handsome 
pillared  structure  with  more  room  than  Chau- 
tauqua had  ever  before  possessed  for  waiting 
room,  ticket  office,  baggage,  freight,  and  express,  a 


344      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

convenience  appreciated  by  every  visitor.  Also, 
by  the  shore  a  new  bathhouse  and  the  Jacob 
Bolin  Gymnasium  were  built  and  opened,  as  well 
as  the  Fenton  Memorial  Home  for  Methodist 
Deaconesses  on  the  Overlook  addition. 

In  1 91 8, we  were  in  the  grip  of  the  war,  with  our 
young  men  in  camp  by  the  million,  overseas  and 
on  their  way  by  the  hundred  thousand,  and  every 
woman  "doing  her  bit"  in  the  Red  Cross  work. 
Outwardly,  Chautauqua  seemed  as  flourishing  as 
in  other  years,  the  hotels  and  cottages  appeared  to 
be  full,  the  Amphitheater  was  crowded  at  the  con- 
certs and  popular  lectures,  and  the  main  streets  be- 
fore and  after  lectures  were  a  continuous  procession. 
But  the  gate  receipts  showed  that  the  Institution, 
in  common  with  every  college  in  the  land,  was 
lessened  in  its  attendance  and  its  financial  returns. 
Nevertheless,  the  program  was  not  allowed  to 
decline  in  its  extent  and  its  interest.  Indeed, 
one  added  feature  attracted  attention.  In  the 
field  of  the  Overlook  a  National  Service  School 
was  held  in  cooperation  with  the  Woman's  Naval 
Service.  A  tented  camp  was  maintained  un- 
der the  strict  discipline  of  Mrs.  George  E.  Vin- 
cent, with  regular  guards,  and  training  for  more 
than  two  hundred  khaki-clad  young  women  in 
agriculture,  telegraphy,  basketry,  and  canteen 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH         345 

management.  I  am  not  sure  about  carpentry, 
though  I  saw  a  photograph  of  young  women  sawing 
boards  and  putting  up  a  house. 

The  value  of  Chautauqua  in  national  patriotic 
leadership  was  recognized,  not  only  by  our  own 
government,  but  by  the  Allies  as  well.  Great 
Britain,  France,  Belgium,  Italy,  and  Greece  sent 
official  speakers,  either  through  their  embassies  or 
their  special  war  missions.  It  was  a  mark  of 
distinguished  favor  that  the  French  High  Com- 
mission gave  the  French  Military  Band  to  Chau- 
tauqua for  a  week,  their  longest  engagement  in 
this  country. 

On  the  opening  day,  July  4th,  President  Bestor 
gave  the  oration  on  "Mobilizing  the  Mind  of 
America."  For  nearly  a  year  before,  and  until 
the  Armistice  in  November  of  this  year,  Mr. 
Bestor  was  almost  without  intermission  in  Wash- 
ington in  government  service  as  head  of  the 
Department  of  Publicity.  He  was  Director  of  the 
Speaking  Division  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Information,  and  also  Secretary  of  the  Committee 
on  Patriotism  of  the  National  Security  League, 
an  organization  which  held  in  many  places  training 
camps  for  patriotic  speakers.  Dr.  Bestor  was 
carrying  on  more  than  double  duty  until  the 
Armistice  in  1918  gave  him  something  of  a  breath- 


346     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ing  spell  between  the  sessions  of  Chautauqua. 
During  the  week  from  July  7th  to  I3th,  Bishop 
Edwin  H.  Hughes  (Methodist  Episcopal)  was 
Chaplain,  and  gave  addresses  of  a  high  character 
on  "Varieties  of  Religious  Experience."  As 
samples  of  the  type  of  lectures  during  this  strenu- 
ous battle  summer,  this  week  President  E.  B. 
Bryan  spoke  on  "War  as  a  Schoolmaster, "  Mr. 
E.  H.  Griggs  began  a  course  on  "The  War  and  the 
Reconstruction  of  Democracy,"  and  Dr.  L.  A. 
Weigle  of  Yale  lectured  on  "Religious  Education 
in  War  Times."  One  evening  Dr.  S.  H.  Clark 
read  war  lyrics  in  the  Amphitheater. 

The  week  from  July  I4th  to  20th  was  "Women's 
Service  Week,"  and  among  those  who  spoke  on  the 
subject  were  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  who  had  been 
called  by  the  President  to  be  Chairman  of  the 
Women's  National  Council  of  Defense,  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  activities  of  women  in  aid  of  the 
war,  Miss  Helen  Fraser  of  England,  Mrs.  Carrie 
Chapman  Catt,  Mrs.  Ella  A.  Boole,  Mrs.  Penny- 
backer,  and  Mrs.  George  Thatcher  Guernsey, — 
women  whose  voices  had  often  been  heard  in 
behalf  of  woman  suffrage,  now  as  ardently  speak- 
ing in  aid  of  work  to  carry  on  the  war.  This 
week  Dr.  S.  P.  Cadman  had  been  engaged  as 
Chaplain,  but  he  was  unable  to  remain  more  than 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH         347 

one  day  and  other  men  were  suddenly  drafted 
to  take  his  place  on  successive  mornings,  one  of 
them>  the  writer  of  these  pages,  on  fifteen  minutes' 
notice  called  to  conduct  the  Devotional  Hour, 
immediately  after  an  hour's  teaching  in  class. 
This  little  incident,  of  no  particular  interest 
to  anybody  but  the  writer,  is  mentioned  merely 
to  illustrate  the  instant  change  of  front  which 
must  be  made  frequently  at  Chautauqua,  when  a 
speaker  is  delayed  by  a  railroad  wreck  or  un- 
expectedly called  home  to  conduct  a  funeral. 

"Our  Allies  "  was  the  title  of  the  week  from  July 
22d  to  27th.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Gilkey  of  Chicago 
preached  the  sermon  on  Sunday  morning  and  led 
in  the  devotions  through  the  week.  Prof.  Robert 
Herndon  Fife  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  Conn., 
gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  "The  New  Europe." 
Not  all  of  his  forecasts  have  yet  come  to  pass, 
for  the  new  Europe  is  only  slowly  emerging  out  of 
the  old.  Mrs.  Kenneth  Brown — the  name  sounds 
American,  but  she  is  a  Greek  lady  of  rank,  born 
Demetra  Vaka — told  a  harrowing  tale  of  her  own 
experience  and  observation,  "In  the  Heart  of  the 
German  Intrigue. ' '  Dr.  Mitchell  Carroll  of  Wash- 
ington gave  an  account  of  "Greece,  our  Youngest 
Ally,"  with  Venizelos  as  the  hero.  Lieut.  Bruno 
Roselli  of  the  Italian  army  spoke;  Miss  Maud 


348      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Hayes  of  " England  in  War  Time."  On  Friday 
evening,  July  26th,  there  was  a  concert  in  the 
evening  of  national  songs  of  the  Allies;  the  flags 
of  more  than  twenty  nations  being  hung  above 
the  choir  loft.  On  Grand  Army  Day  in  this  week 
Lieut.  Telfair  Marion  Mint  on  spoke  on  "The 
Flags  of  a  Thousand  Years." 

In  the  following  week,  July  28th  to  August  3d, 
while  the  Musical  Festival  was  in  progress,  the 
French  Military  Band  played  every  day,  and 
concert  followed  concert,  with  Gaul's  "Joan  of 
Arc"  sung  one  evening  by  the  soloists  and  full 
chorus.  Dr.  Leon  H.  Vincent  gave  a  course  of 
lectures,  showing  "War  in  Literature,"  the  stories 
called  forth  by  the  Wars  of  Napoleon,  the  Crimean 
War,  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870,  and  the 
struggle  in  progress  in  1918 — a  most  interesting 
series.  The  Chaplain  of  this  week  was  the  Rev. 
Wm.  S.  Jacobs,  D.D.,  of  Houston,  Texas. 

Omitting  a  fortnight  for  lack  of  room,  we  must 
not  omit  "The  Next  Step  Forward,"  the  topic  of 
the  week  from  August  i8th  to  24th,  a  discussion  of 
some  movements  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  war, 
such  as  "Theological  Reconstruction,"  by  Shailer 
Mathews;  "Christianity  in  Foreign  Lands,"  by 
Dr.  J.  L.  Barton,  Secretary  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions;  "The 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH         349 

Sunday  Evening  Club"  and  "Church  Advertis- 
ing," by  W.  F.  McClure,  and  "The  Art  of  Motion 
Pictures,"  by  Vachel  Lindsay.  There  was  also  a 
course  on  "Art  in  Daily  Life,"  by  our  English 
friend,  Prof.  I.  B.  Stoughton  Holborn,  of  Oxford. 

Bishop  McConnell,  who  conducted  the  Devo- 
tional Hour,  August  iith-iyth,  also  gave  the 
Recognition  address  to  the  graduating  class  of 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  on  "Ideals  of  Leadership."  The 
skies  were  clouded,  yet  we  were  able  to  hold  the 
procession  as  usual  (only  once  in  forty-seven  years 
has  the  march  been  broken  up  by  rain),  but  the 
storm  fell  during  the  address,  with  such  noise 
on  the  roof  that  the  Bishop  was  compelled  to  pause 
for  some  minutes  until  its  rage  abated.  We 
missed  on  this  day  especially  the  presence  of 
Bishop  Vincent  and  his  son,  and  the  diplomas  were 
conferred  by  Dr.  Bestor,  the  new  President  of 
Chautauqua.  Not  long  after  the  closing  of  the 
Assembly,  on  November  n,  1918,  "Armistice 
Day"  was  ushered  in  by  the  blowing  of  every 
steam  whistle  upon  the  continent,  by  all-day  pro- 
cessions, by  bands  and  horns,  and  a  surrender  of 
the  nation  to  the  universal  joy,  through  the  news 
that  the  most  terrible  war  that  ever  desolated  the 
world  was  over  at  last. 

When  the  forty-sixth  session  of  Chautauqua 


350      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

opened  in  1919,  it  found  the  land  rejoicing  over 
the  conclusion  of  the  war,  happy  in  the  return  of 
two  million  men  in  khaki,  apparently  rich  with 
high  wages,  booming  business,  and  money  in 
plenty.  It  was  the  top  of  a  tide  destined  before 
many  months  to  recede  to  normal  conditions. 
But  while  the  flush  times  lasted,  Chautauqua 
shared  in  the  nation-wide  prosperity.  This  was 
the  period  of  astounding  financial  drives.  One 
great  church  commemorated  the  hundred  years  of 
its  missionary  enterprise  by  a  centenary  move- 
ment and  a  subscription  of  more  than  a  hundred 
million  dollars.  Other  churches  followed  with 
"New  Era"  and  "Nation  Wide"  campaigns.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  opportunity  for  Chautauqua  to 
reap  some  benefits  from  the  spirit  of  the  time,  and 
the  trustees  launched  the  "Comprehensive  Plan" 
to  raise  half  a  million  dollars,  freeing  the  In- 
stitution from  all  debt  and  placing  it  on  a  safe, 
permanent,  and  prosperous  basis.  Here  was  a 
university  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  instruc- 
tors, two  hundred  courses  of  study,  and  nearly  five 
thousand  students  every  summer,  yet  without  a 
dollar  of  endowment; — what  college  in  the  land 
was  doing  so  much  with  an  income  so  small? 
Here  was  a  property  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  -gradually  accumulated,  partly  by  the 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH         351 

demands  of  the  Institution's  growth,  partly  from 
the  necessity  of  controlling  its  surroundings. 
Debts  had  been  incurred  by  enlargement  of  the 
grounds,  a  sewer  system,  a  water  supply,  electric 
lighting,  new  buildings,  new  roads,  and  a  hundred 
items  of  improvement.  The  overhead  expenses 
of  Chautauqua,  in  the  form  of  interest  that  must 
be  paid,  were  more  than  thirty  thousand  dollars 
every  year.  How  much  might  be  accomplished 
if  every  debt  could  be  cleared  away  and  the  saving 
in  interest  be  applied  to  the  improvement  of  the 
property  and  the  enlargement  of  opportunities? 
Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller  made  an  offer  of  giving 
one-fifth  of  all  that  should  be  raised,  up  to  the 
desired  half -million  dollars.  The  trustees  assigned 
to  themselves  another  hundred  thousand  of  the 
amount,  and  a  committee  of  the  cottage  owners 
pledged  $150,000  from  those  having  property  on 
the  ground.  The  plans  were  carefully  laid,  and 
during  the  season  of  1919  every  visitor  at  Chau- 
tauqua was  called  upon  to  make  his  contribution. 
Of  all  the  forty-six  years  of  Chautauqua  up  to 
1919,  this  was  the  most  successful  in  its  history. 
The  attendance  shown  by  the  receipts  at  the  two 
gates — one  at  the  Pier  where  the  steamboats 
landed  their  thousands,  the  other  at  the  new 
station  on  the  public  highway  where  the  trolley 


352      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

brought  the  tens  of  thousands — were  far  beyond 
that  of  any  former  year.  The  registration  at  the 
schools  was  sixty-two  per  cent,  in  advance  of  1918, 
and  eighteen  per  cent,  beyond  that  of  1914,  the 
best  previous  year.  Every  hotel  and  boarding 
house  inside  the  fence  was  full,  and  pleas  were 
made  to  cottagers  to  open  their  doors  to  incoming 
guests.  Many  who  could  not  find  lodging  places 
on  the  grounds  found  homes  in  the  hotels  and  ham- 
lets around  the  Lake  and  came  daily  to  the 
Assembly  by  trolley  or  by  boat. 

During  the  opening  week,  Mr.  W.  W.  Ellsworth 
gave  two  illustrated  lectures,  one  on  "Theodore 
Roosevelt,"  the  other  "The  Rise  and  Fall  of 
Prussianism,"  and  Prof.  Thomas  F.  Moran  of 
Purdue  University  gave  an  appreciation  of  "Mark 
Twain,  Humorist,  Reformer,  and  Philosopher." 
Miss  Maud  Miner  gave  a  popular  recitation  of 
"Comedy  Scenes  from  Shakespeare."  It  was 
noticed  that  in  the  very  opening  the  Amphi- 
theater was  filled; — what  would  it  become  at  the 
height  of  the  season,  the  first  two  weeks  in  August  ? 

The  Devotional  Hour  from  July  6th  to  I2th 
was  held  by  Dr.  Charles  F.  Wishart,  in  a  series  of 
studies  in  the  book  of  Exodus,  entitled,  "A  Free 
People  in  the  Making,"  and  from  the  story  he 
drew  frequent  applications  to  the  history  of 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        353 

another  ''free  people."  During  this  week,  Dr. 
Louis  A.  Weigle,  Professor  of  Psychology  at  Yale 
University,  began  a  course  of  lectures  on  "Char- 
acter Building  in  the  Public  Schools"  suggesting 
many  thoughts — not  all  of  them  gratulatory — in 
those  who  heard  them. 

On  Sunday  morning,  July  I3th,  the  great 
congregation  heard  Dr.  Wm.  P.  Merrill,  of  the 
Brick  Church,  New  York,  deliver  a  sermon  on  the 
topic  as  announced,  "The  League  of  Nations,"  of 
which  he  declared  himself  unreservedly  in  favor. 
On  this  question  there  were  two  parties  through- 
out the  nation  strongly  opposed  to  each  other  and 
fiercely  debating  it,  and  when  a  fortnight  later 
the  chaplain,  Bishop  Williams,  who  was  never 
known  to  sit  on  the  fence,  also  came  out  vigor- 
ously for  the  League,  Mr.  Bestor  began  to  look 
around  for  some  speaker  on  the  other  side,  for  it 
has  been  a  principle  at  Chautauqua  to  give  both 
sides  a  fair  showing,  even  when  the  Chautauqua 
constituency  as  a  whole  might  be  opposed  to  a 
speaker.  A  speaker  against  the  League  was  found 
in  Mr.  John  Ferguson,  but  he  evidently  repre- 
sented the  sentiments  of  the  minority.  Among 
the  speakers  of  the  second  week  were  several  on 
"The  Aftermath  of  the  Great  War,"  among  them 
Dr.  Katharine  B.  Davis,  Major-General  Bailey, 
23 


354      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

who  had  been  Commander  of  the  Eighty-First 
Division  of  the  A.  E.  F.,  and  Attorney-General 
A.  Mitchell  Palmer.  Prof.  S.  C.  Schmucker  also 
gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  "The  Races  of  Man." 

Musical  Festival  Week  was  from  July  28th 
to  August  2nd.  The  New  York  Symphony 
Orchestra  of  sixty  instruments  was  with  us  in 
concerts  daily,  led  in  the  absence  of  its  conductor, 
Mr.  Walter  Damrosch  (who  was  abroad)  by 
Rene  Pollain  of  France.  During  this  and  the  fol- 
lowing week  Earl  Barnes  gave  a  course  of  lectures 
on  "The  New  Nations  of  the  World."  We 
listened  to  a  discussion  of  "Zionism,"  in  a  lecture 
on  "Jewish  Aims  in  Palestine"  by  Charles  A. 
Co  wen,  of  the  Zionist  organization,  to  which  Mr. 
Earl  Barnes  gave  a  cool,  dispassionate  answer, 
showing  the  difficulty,  amounting  almost  to  an 
impossibility,  of  establishing  a  Jewish  State  in  the 
land  looked  upon  as  holy,  not  only  by  Jews,  but  by 
Mohammedans  and  Christians  of  all  the  great 
churches.  Another  speaker  in  this  symposium 
was  Mme.  Mabel  S.  Grouetch,  the  wife  of  the 
Serbian  minister  at  Washington,  who  afterward 
became  the  Czecho-Slovak  representative  to  Japan. 

Old  First  Night  on  August  5th  was  devoted  to 
the  Comprehensive  Plan  of  lifting  Chautauqua 
out  of  debt.  The  elements  seemed  against  the  aim 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        355 

for  rain  kept  some  away, — though  the  Amphi- 
theater was  full — and  its  thunder  on  the  roof  made 
some  speeches  inaudible.  But  it  could  not 
dampen  the  ardor  of  the  people.  Practically 
every  organization,  club,  or  class  at  Chautauqua, 
besides  many  individuals,  made  pledges.  Besides 
the  chorus,  there  was  a  children's  choir  in  the 
gallery,  and  one  gentleman  offered  to  give  a 
dollar  for  every  child  in  it,  whereupon  scouts  were 
sent  out,  boys  and  girls  were  gotten  out  of  bed 
and  brought  to  the  gallery,  so  that  his  pledge 
cost  that  gentleman  considerably  over  $300.00. 
Before  the  close  of  the  Assembly  $375,000 
had  been  subscribed,  inclusive  of  Mr.  Rocke- 
feller's quota. 

Americanization  week  was  from  August  nth  to 
1 6th,  with  timely  addresses  by  Prof.  Herbert 
Adolphin  Miller,  Prof.  Thomas  Moran,  and  a 
delightful  lecture  by  Mrs.  Beatrice  Forbes-Robert- 
son Hale,  on  "  Reconstruction  in  England  and 
America."  As  a  practical  illustration  of  Ameri- 
canization, there  was  a  wonderful  pageant  by  the 
children  of  a  public  school  in  Pittsburgh,  practi- 
cally all  of  foreign  lineage.  The  Recognition 
address  on  August  2oth  was  by  Bishop  Charles  F. 
Brent,  who  after  heroic  work  in  the  Philippines 
had  been  translated  to  the  Episcopal  diocese  of 


356      THE  STORY  OP  CHAUTAUQUA 

Western  New  York.  His  subject  was  "The 
Opportunities  of  the  Mind." 

We  must  not  forget  that  some  lectures  were 
given  at  this  session  by  Dr.  Charles  A.  Eastman, 
whose  name  does  not  suggest,  as  his  complexion 
does,  that  he  is  a  full-blooded  Sioux  Indian.  He 
is  a  successful  physician  and  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College, — which,  by  the  way,  was  estab- 
lished in  1750  as  a  school  for  Indians,  with  no 
thought  of  Anglo-Saxon  students.  This  year  also 
Dr.  E.  B.  Bryan  was  unable  to  remain  as  Director 
of  the  Summer  Schools,  and  his  work  was  added  to 
the  many  tasks  of  President  Bestor. 

We  come  finally  to  the  Assembly  of  1920,  the 
forty-seventh  session,  and  at  present  the  last  upon 
our  list,  unless  we  undertake  a  prophetic  look  into 
the  future.  We  met  in  sadness,  for  our  great 
Founder  John  Heyl  Vincent,  who  had  lived  to  the 
age  of  eighty-eight  years,  died  on  Sunday,  May  Qth, 
at  his  home  in  Chicago.  He  had  outlived  his 
fellow-Founder,  Lewis  Miller,  by  twenty-one  years. 
The  two  names  stand  together  in  the  annals  of 
Chautauqua  and  in  the  thoughts  of  all  Chau- 
tauquans,  for  Chautauqua  could  not  have  been 
founded  by  either  one  without  the  other,  and  on 
Old  First  Night,  for  both  together  the  lilies  of  the 
white  handkerchiefs  are  silently  and  solemnly  lifted, 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        357 

and  as  silently  and  solemnly  lowered.  A  memorial 
service  was  held  for  our  beloved  Bishop  and  Chan- 
cellor on  Sunday  afternoon,  August  1st,  at  the 
Vesper  Hour,  in  the  Hall  of  Philosophy  as  the 
appropriate  place,  and  the  writer  of  this  story, 
as  the  oldest  of  living  Chautauqua  workers,  was 
permitted  to  offer  the  tribute  in  his  honor.  In  the 
evening  another  service  was  held  in  the  Amphi- 
theater, at  which  Dr.  John  H.  Finley,  Superintend- 
ent of  Education  for  New  York  State,  and  Bishop 
Herbert  Welch  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  home  for  a  few  months  from  his  field  in 
Korea  and  Japan,  gave  addresses.  During  the 
past  year  Chautauqua  had  sustained  another  loss 
in  the  death  of  Mr.  Alfred  Hallam,  who  for  nearly 
twenty  years  had  been  the  untiring  and  wholly 
devoted  leader  of  the  Musical  Department.  It 
was  felt  that  a  musical  service  was  his  most  ap- 
propriate memorial,  and  the  oratorio  "Hora 
Novissima,"  by  Horatio  Parker,  was  sung  by  the 
choir  and  soloists  on  Sunday  evening,  August  8th. 
During  the  session  news  came  that  Dr.  Bethuel 
T.  Vincent  of  Denver,  long  conductor  of  the 
Children's  class  and  Intermediate  class  in  the  early 
years  of  the  Assembly,  had  followed  his  brother 
the  Bishop,  into  the  silent  land.  He  was  remem- 
bered in  an  address  by  the  writer  at  a  memorial 


358      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

service.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Ella  Vincent,  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Woman's  Club,  in  a  few 
months  also  joined  the  company  of  the  church 
triumphant.  Another  voice  often  heard  at  Chau- 
tauqua  was  stilled  this  summer,  that  of  Mrs. 
Frank  Beard,  always  bright  and  sunny  in  her 
spirit,  who  fell  asleep  in  the  cottage  where  she  was 
abiding,  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  Assembly, 
fulfilling  the  wish  expressed  to  a  friend  a  year 
before  that  she  might  die  at  Chautauqua. 

The  most  notable  feature  on  the  program  this 
summer  was  the  presence  at  Chautauqua  for 
nearly  six  weeks,  from  July  26th  to  August  3ist,  of 
the  New  York  Symphony  Orchestra,  with  daily 
concerts,  conducted  by  Rene  Pollain  and  William 
Willeke, — a  bold  venture  of  the  management  but 
evidently  successful. 

This  was  the  tercentenary  of  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims,  and  the  event  was  recognized  by  several 
addresses,  one  in  particular  by  Mr.  Charles 
Zeublin,  on  ' '  1 620  and  1 920. ' '  Prof.  Weigle  gave  a 
lecture  on  "Education  of  Children  in  Early  New 
England";  Dr.  Alfred  E.  Garvie  spoke  on  "The 
Message  of  the  Mayflower  for  To-day. ' '  Principal 
Alexander  J.  Grieve  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh gave  lectures  on  the  "Leaders  of  the  Pil- 
grims,— John  Robinson  and  others." 


WAR  AND  ITS  AFTERMATH        359 

Dr.  Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  after  an  experi- 
ence of  years  in  Asia  Minor  and  in  France,  gave  a 
series  of  valuable  lectures  on  "After  the  War," 
and  Mrs.  Gibbons  narrated  the  thrilling  story  of 
herself  in  Turkey,  during  the  massacres  of  1908. 
Dr.  Lynn  Harold  Hough  was  chaplain  from  July 
4th  to  July  loth,  and  in  the  morning  talks  spoke 
on  the  spiritual  experiences  of  St.  Augustine, 
Martin  Luther,  and  John  Wesley,  then  summed 
them  up  in  a  conception  of  "The  Christian 
Society.'*  Prof.  Richard  Burton  lectured  in  a 
course  on  "Modern  Literary  Tendencies," — the 
essay,  the  novel,  the  drama,  and  other  forms  of 
literature.  One  of  the  great  acquisitions  this  year 
was  Prof.  T.  R.  Glover  of  Cambridge,  England,  with 
a  course  of  lectures  on  "The  Jesus  of  History," 
the  results  of  the  deepest  study  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  also  of  the  contemporary  Roman  world. 
Dr.  H.  Gordon  Hayes,  just  leaving  Yale  for  the 
Ohio  State  University,  discussed  most  ably  "Fac- 
tors in  Labor  Unrest."  On  Roosevelt  Day,  July 
2 1st,  Mrs.  Douglas  Robinson,  his  sister,  gave 
"Recollections  of  Theodore  Roosevelt."  In  the 
week  from  July  26th~3ist,  the  subject  was  "Prob- 
lems of  the  Present  Day  Civilization,"  discussed 
by  Dr.  E.  H.  Griggs,  Rabbi  Louis  Wolsey  of 
Cleveland,  and  Dr.  Cornelius  Woelfkin  of  New 


360     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

York.  "Woman  and  the  New  Era"  was  the 
theme  of  the  week  August  2d~7th,  a  -discussion 
participated  in  by  Mrs.  Thomas  G.  Winter,  Presi- 
dent of  the  General  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs; 
by  Mrs.  George  Bass,  who  was  the  woman,  for  the 
first  time  in  history  to  preside  for  a  day  at  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  which  renom- 
inated  Woodrow  Wilson;  and  by  Miss  Mary 
Garrett  Hay,  the  President  of  the  Affiliated 
Women's  Republican  Clubs.  August  22d-2Qth 
was  the  week  of  the  Ministers  and  Church  Work- 
ers' Institute,  with  addresses  by  Bishop  McDowell 
(Methodist),  Ozora  S.  Davis,  Shailer  Mathews, 
Mrs.  Helen  Barrett  Montgomery,  and  Chancellor 
S.  B.  McCormick,  of  Pittsburgh. 

This  was  a  great  year.  Subscriptions  to  the 
Comprehensive  Plan  brought  the  amount  up  to 
$450,000,  including  Mr.  Rockefeller's  contribution, 
to  be  increased  if  other  gifts  warranted  it.  The 
Summer  Schools  were  twenty -five  per  cent,  in 
income  and  nearly  twenty  per  cent,  in  numbers 
over  1919,  the  highest  mark  of  past  years.  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  improving  and  enlarging  the 
golf  links,  and  for  building  a  new  club  house  on  the 
grounds  of  the  golf  course. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS 

CHAUTAUQUA,  planted  upon  the  shore  of  its 
Lake,  grew  up  a  fruitful  vine,  and  within  two  years 
shoots  cut  from  its  abundant  branches  began  to 
take  root  in  other  soils.  Or,  to  change  the  figure, 
the  seeds  of  Chautauqua  were  borne  by  the  winds 
to  many  places,  some  of  them  far  away,  and  these 
grew  up,  in  the  course  of  little  more  than  a  gener- 
ation, a  hundred,  even  a  thousand  fold.  Many 
of  these  daughter-Chautauquas  were  organized  by 
men — in  some  instances  by  women — who  had 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  mother-assembly ;  others  by 
those  who  had  heard  of  the  new  movement  and 
saw  its  possibilities ;  some,  it  must  be  confessed,  by 
people  who  sought  to  save  a  decayed  and  debt- 
burdened  camp  meeting,  and  a  few  with  lots  to 
lease  at  a  summer  resort.  From  one  cause  or 
another,  immediately  after  the  first  Assembly  had 
won  success,  Dr.  Vincent  began  to  receive  pressing 
invitations  to  organize  similar  institutions  in  many 
places.  As  he  was  already  fulfilling  the  duties 

361 


362     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

both  of  an  editor  and  a  secretary  for  the  rapidly 
growing  Sunday  School  cause,  he  could  accept  but 
few  of  these  many  calls.  But  a  number  of  younger 
men  trained  by  a  year  or  two  of  experience  in 
teaching  at  Chautauqua  were  around  him  and  to 
these  he  directed  most  of  the  enquirers.  At  least 
three  Assemblies  arose  in  1876,  two  years  after 
the  founding  of  Chautauqua.  Of  these  I  possess 
some  knowledge  and  will  therefore  name  them, 
but  without  doubt  there  were  others  which  soon 
passed  away  and  left  scarcely  a  memory. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  first 
gathering  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Chautauqua 
was  the  Sunday  School  Parliament  on  Wellesley 
Island,  one  of  those  romantic  Thousand  Islands  in 
the  St.  Lawrence  River,  where  it  emerges  from 
Lake  Ontario.  This  island  stands  on  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  but 
the  home  of  the  Parliament  was  on  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  line.  The  name  "Chautauqua"  has 
now  become  generic  and  almost  any  gathering  in 
the  interests  of  the  Sunday  School,  or  of  general 
literature  with  a  sprinkling  of  entertainment,  is  apt 
to  be  named  ' '  a  Chautauqua. "  But  in  those  early 
days  the  word  Chautauqua  was  not  known  as  the 
general  term  of  an  institution  of  the  assembly  type, 
and  the  new  gatherings  were  named  "Congress"  or 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  363 

"Encampment"  or  "Institute,"  and  for  this 
gathering  the  title  "Sunday  School  Parliament" 
was  taken,  as  smacking  somewhat  of  English  origin. 
Its  organizer  and  conductor  was  the  Rev.  Wilbur 
F.  Crafts,  at  that  time  a  Methodist  minister, 
afterwards  a  Congregationalist,  and  still  at  present 
working  as  the  head  of  the  International  Reform 
Bureau  in  Washington,  D.  C.  He  was  aided  in  the 
plan  and  direction  by  Mrs.  Crafts,  for  both  of  them 
were  then  prominent  leaders  in  Sunday  School 
work.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  present  and 
conduct  the  Normal  Class  during  a  part  of  the  time. 
As  compared  with  Chautauqua,  the  Parliament 
was  small,  but  its  spirit  was  true  to  the  Chau- 
tauqua ideal  and  it  was  maintained  faithfully  for 
ten  or  twelve  years.  The  place  had  been  estab- 
lished as  a  camp-meeting  ground,  but  it  shared 
the  fate  of  many  camp  meetings  in  gradually 
growing  into  a  summer  resort  for  people  in  general. 
As  cottages  and  cottagers  increased  the  Chautau- 
qua interest  declined,  and  finally  the  attempt 
to  maintain  classes  and  meetings  after  the  Chau- 
tauqua pattern  was  abandoned,  and  the  island 
took  its  place  among  the  summer  colonies  in  that 
wonderful  group. 

The  same  year,  1876,  saw  another  campground 
becoming  a  Chautauqua  Assembly, — at  Petoskey, 


364     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

near  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  Here  a 
beautiful  tract  of  woodland,  rising  in  a  series  of 
terraces  from  Little  Traverse  Bay,  about  forty 
miles  south  of  the  Straits  of  Mackinac,  had 
been  obtained  by  a  Methodist  camp-meeting 
association,  and  laid  out  in  roads  forming  a  series 
of  concentric  circles.  Here  the  first  Bay  View 
Assembly  was  held  in  1876,  and  again  in  its  scope 
were  combined  the  camp  meeting,  the  summer 
home,  and  the  Chautauqua  conception,  three 
divergent  aims  that  have  rarely  worked  well 
together.  It  will  be  remembered  that  on  its  land 
side  the  original  Chautauqua  was  shut  off  from 
the  outer  world  by  a  high  fence,  and  everybody 
was  compelled  to  enter  the  ground  through  a 
gate,  at  which  a  ticket  must  be  purchased.  At 
Bay  View,  as  at  most  camp-meeting  grounds, 
access  was  open  on  every  side.  At  first  they 
undertook  to  support  the  Assembly  by  collections, 
but  the  receipts  proved  inadequate,  and  they 
placed  a  ticket  window  at  each  lecture  hall  and 
endeavored  to  induce  the  cottagers  to  purchase 
season  tickets,  a  plan  which  has  been  pursued 
down  to  the  present  time.  One  of  the  founders  of 
Bay  View,  perhaps  the  one  who  suggested  it,  was 
Dr.  Wm.  H.  Perrine,  an  ardent  and  intelligent 
Chautauquan,  the  rebuilder  of  Palestine  Park. 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  365 

Other  men  came  to  the  aid  of  the  Bay  View 
Assembly,  some  of  them  men  of  means,  who  gave 
liberally  in  the  form  of  buildings,  an  organ,  and  to 
some  extent  an  endowment.  One  of  these  was  Mr. 
Horace  Hitchcock  of  Detroit,  another  was  John 
M.  Hall,  who  organized  the  Bay  View  Reading 
Course,  analagous  to  the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  and  by  his 
personal  endeavor  built  up  a  reading  and  book- 
buying  constituency.  I  was  present  at  the 
second  session  in  1877,  when  it  was  a  handful  of 
people  in  a  wilderness,  and  again  thirty  years 
later,  when  I  found  a  beautiful  city  of  homes  in 
the  forest,  rising  terrace  above  terrace,  with  good 
roads,  fine  public  buildings,  and  a  body  of  people 
interested  in  the  best  thought  of  the  time.  Chau- 
tauqua  points  with  pleasure  and  pride  to  her  oldest 
living  daughter,  the  Bay  View  Assembly. 

Mention  should  be  made  here  of  an  Assembly 
established  at  Clear  Lake,  beside  a  beautiful 
sheet  of  water  in  northern  Iowa,  nearly  midway 
between  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers.  It 
was  organized  in  1876,  with  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Berry 
as  superintendent.  For  some  years,  beginning 
in  1879,  it  was  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  J.  A. 
Worden,  who,  like  some  others  of  us,  had  learned 
the  Assembly  trade  in  apprenticeship  to  Dr. 
Vincent  at  Chautauqua.  For  ten  years  Clear 


366      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Lake  was  fairly  prosperous,  but  in  time  it  met 
the  fate  of  most  assemblies  and  dropped  out  of 
existence. 

During  the  year  1877  three  more  Assemblies 
arose,  one  of  which  remains  to  this  day  in  prosper- 
ity, while  the  two  others  soon  passed  away.  The 
successful  institution  was  at  Lakeside,  Ohio.  Like 
many  others,  it  was  grafted  upon  a  camp  meeting 
which  had  been  established  some  years  before, 
but  was  declining  in  its  interest  and  attendance. 
The  name  "Encampment"  was  chosen  as  an  easy 
departure  from  its  original  sphere,  but  after  a  few 
years  the  name  "Assembly,"  by  this  time  becom- 
ing general,  was  assumed.  The  first  meeting  as 
a  Sunday  School  gathering  on  the  Chautauqua  plan 
was  held  in  1877,  with  the  Rev.  James  A.  Worden, 
who  had  assisted  Dr.  Vincent  for  three  years  in  the 
normal  work  at  Chautauqua,  as  its  conductor. 
Afterward  Dr.  B.  T.  Vincent  was  in  charge  for  a 
number  of  seasons,  and  one  year,  1882,  Dr.  John 
H.  Vincent  was  superintendent.  For  many  years 
all  the  Chautauqua  features  were  kept  prominent, 
the  Normal  Department,  with  a  systematic  course, 
examinations,  and  an  Alumni  Association;  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.  with  recognition  services,  Round 
Tables,  camp  fires,  the  four  Arches,  and  all  the 
accessories.  Lakeside  drew  around  it  helpers 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  367 

and  liberal  givers,  and  still  stands  in  strength. 
Lakeside  has  the  benefit  of  a  delightful  location,  on 
a  wooded  peninsula  jutting  into  Lake  Erie,  near 
Sandusky  City,  and  in  sight  of  Put-in-Bay,  famous 
in  American  history  for  Commodore  Perry's  naval 
victory  in  the  War  of  1812.  It  still  maintains  lec- 
ture courses  and  classes  in  the  midst  of  a  summer- 
home  community. 

Another  Assembly  began  in  1877,  with  high 
expectations,  at  Lake  Bluff  overlooking  Lake 
Michigan,  thirty-five  miles  north  of  Chicago.  It 
was  confidently  supposed  that  on  a  direct  railroad 
line  from  the  great  city,  Lake  Bluff  would  draw 
large  audiences,  and  Dr.  Vincent  was  engaged  to 
organize  and  conduct  an  Assembly  upon  the 
Chautauqua  plan,  with  lecturers  and  workers  from 
that  headquarters.  A  strong  program  was  pre- 
pared for  the  opening  session.  Among  the 
lecturers  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,  at  that  time 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  popular  speakers 
in  the  land.  I  recall  in  one  of  his  lectures  at  Lake 
Bluff  a  sentence,  wholly  unpremeditated,  which 
thrilled  the  audience  and  has  always  seemed  to  me 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  utterances  I  have  ever 
heard.  It  was  twelve  years  after  the  Civil  War, 
and  on  our  way  to  the  Assembly  we  passed  the 
marble  monument  crowned  with  the  statue  of 


368     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  competitor  of  Lincoln 
for  the  Senatorship  and  Presidency,  but  after  the 
opening  of  the  war  his  loyal  supporter  for  the  few 
months  before  his  death.  Dr.  Cook  was  giving 
a  history  of  the  forces  in  the  nation  which  brought 
on  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States.  He 
referred  to  Daniel  Webster  in  the  highest  praise, 
declaring  that  his  compromise  measures,  such  as 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  were  dictated  by  a  su- 
preme love  for  the  Union,  which  if  preserved  would 
in  time  have  made  an  end  of  slavery,  and  he  added 
a  sentence  of  which  this  is  the  substance. 

Had  it  been  given  to  Daniel  Webster,  as  it  was 
given  to  Edward  Everett,  to  live  until  the  guns  were 
fired  upon  Fort  Sumter,  there  would  have  been  an  end 
of  compromise.  He  would  have  stamped  that  mighty 
foot  with  a  sound  that  would  have  rung  throughout 
the  land,  have  called  forth  a  million  men,  and  might 
have  averted  the  war! 

Just  then  a  voice  rang  out  from  one  of  the  seats 

—"As   Douglas   did!"     Joseph   Cook  paused  a 

moment.     His  chest  swelled  as  he  drew  in  a  breath, 

and  then  looking  at  the  man  who  had  interrupted 

him,  he  spoke  in  that  powerful  voice : 

The  firmament  above  the  massive  brow  of  Daniel 
Webster  was  a  vaster  arch  than  that  over  the  narrow 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  369 

forehead  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  the  lightning 
that  rent  the  clouds  from  the  dying  face  of  one, 
would  never  have  been  needed  to  bring  daylight 
to  the  other! 

I  was  seated  beside  the  Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems 
of  New  York,  a  Southerner  by  birth  and  in  his 
sympathies  through  the  then  recent  war.  He 
turned  to  me  and  said:  "That  was  the  most 
magnificent  sentence  that  I  have  ever  heard!" 
There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  and  then  a  burst 
of  applause  from  the  audience. 

The  Lake  Bluff  Assembly  never  drew  a  large 
patronage,  as  no  Chautauqua  Assembly  ever  has 
which  depended  upon  a  great  city  whose  inhabi- 
tants can  hear  the  famous  preachers  and  orators. 
The  successful  Assemblies  have  been  located  in 
fairly  large  towns,  with  villages  and  small  cities 
surrounding,  near  enough  to  reach  the  Assembly, 
but  so  distant  that  to  enjoy  its  benefits  the  visitors 
must  stay  more  than  one  day.  The  support  of  a 
Chautauqua  Assembly  of  the  higher  grade  comes 
not  mainly  from  the  one-day  excursionists,  but 
from  those  who  plan  to  enter  the  classes  and 
remain  at  least  a  fortnight.  These  patrons  con- 
stitute the  backbone  of  the  institution,  and  without 
them  the  transitory  crowds  soon  lose  their  interest 

and  the  Assembly  declines.     Lake  Bluff  main- 
24 


370     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

tained  an  existence  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  but 
never  obtained  an  extensive  constituency. 

The  year  1878  was  noteworthy  in  the  establish- 
ment of  two  Assemblies,  one  still  living  after  more 
than  forty  years,  the  other  one  of  the  largest,  most 
steadfast  in  fidelity  to  the  Chautauqua  ideal,  and 
most  extended  in  its  influence.  The  first  of  these 
was  the  Round  Lake  Assembly,  at  a  camp  ground 
near  Saratoga  in  New  York.  We  have  narrated 
elsewhere  (see  page  44)  the  story  of  the  "praying 
band  leader"  who  undertook  to  hold  a  little  meet- 
ing of  his  own  at  Chautauqua,  and  when  called  to 
order  left  in  disgust,  but  later  showed  his  manly 
spirit  by  asking  Dr.  Vincent  to  organize  an  Assem- 
bly on  the  Chautauqua  plan  on  the  grounds  at 
Round  Lake,  of  which  camp  meeting  he  was 
President.  This  Assembly  began  in  1878,  and  is 
still  maintained  both  as  a  summer  school,  a  camp 
meeting,  and  a  Sunday  School  training  institution. 
It  was  opened  according  to  the  Chautauqua  pat- 
tern, with  an  evening  of  short  speeches,  of  which 
some  at  least  were  supposed  to  blend  humor  with 
sense.  Frank  Beard  was  on  the  platform,  and  was 
expected  to  be  the  wit  of  the  evening.  To  the 
blank  perplexity  of  all,  he  made  a  serious  speech, 
without  a  solitary  funny  allusion.  The  audience 
did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  to  look  solemn, 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  371 

as  he  talked  on,  and  at  last  brought  us  all  "before 
the  great  white  throne."  The  next  morning  at 
breakfast — for  all  the  imported  workers  took  our 
meals  at  one  table  in  the  Round  Lake  Hotel — Dr. 
Vincent  freed  his  mind  to  Frank  Beard,  somewhat 
after  this  fashion : 

Now,  Frank,  I  want  you  to  understand  that  we 
bring  you  here  to  brighten  up  the  program  with  a 
little  fun.  We  don't  need  you  to  make  serious 
speeches;  there  are  plenty  of  men  to  do  that;  I  can  do 
it  myself,  a  great  deal  better  than  you  can.  To-night 
I'm  going  to  give  you  another  chance,  and  I  expect 
you  to  rise  to  the  occasion  with  something  to  laugh  at. 

So,  before  the  evening  lecture,  Dr.  Vincent 
announced  that  Mr.  Beard  wished  to  say  a  few 
words.  This  was  something  of  what  he  said : 

Dr.  Vincent,  he  didn't  like  the  speech  I  made  last 
night.  He  told  me  this  morning  before  all  these 
fellers  that  it  was  too  eloquent,  and  he  said,  "Mr. 
Beard,  when  you  are  eloquent  you  take  the  shine  off 
from  me,  and  these  other  men,  and  you  mustn't  do 
it.  If  there  is  any  eloquence  needed,  I  will  do  it 
myself,  and  you  mustn't  interfere  with  the  regular 
program." 

Then  he  went  on,  in  his  usual  way,  using  some 
of  the  dear  old  jokes  that  some  of  us  had  heard  at 
Chautauqua,  but  polished  up  for  a  new  con- 
stituency. Everybody  saw  that  he  was  guying  the 


372      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

doctor,  but  there  was  a  group  of  us  present  who 
knew  just  how  Frank  was  twisting  the  breakfast 
talk  of  the  Superintendent  of  Instruction. 

On  the  shore  of  Round  Lake,  near  the  Assembly 
ground,  a  copy  of  Palestine  Park  had  been  con- 
structed, and  daily  lectures  were  given  there.  It 
was  just  a  few  feet  larger  than  the  Park  at  Chau- 
tauqua,  as  we  were  informed  by  the  President. 
Let  me  correct  the  report  that  a  big  Methodist 
bishop  arriving  late  one  night,  and  enquiring 
the  way  to  the  hotel,  fell  into  the  clutches  of  the 
most  mischievous  small  boy  in  the  region,  who  told 
him: 

"The  gates  are  all  shut  and  you'll  have  to  climb 
the  fence  yonder." 

He  did  so,  according  to  the  story,  and  fell  from 
the  top  of  the  fence  into  the  Dead  Sea,  which  at 
once  swelled  its  waters  and  washed  away  the  city  of 
Jericho.  The  eminent  divine,  it  is  said,  drenched 
with  water  and  spattered  with  mud,  walked  up  the 
Jordan  Valley  and  over  the  mountains  of  Ephraim, 
destroying  the  cities  and  obliterating  sundry  holy 
places;  one  foot  caught  in  Jacob's  Well,  and  his 
head  bumped  on  Mount  Gerizim.  He  reached  the 
hotel  at  last,  but  the  next  morning  showed  the  land 
of  Palestine  in  worse  ruin  than  had  been  wrought 
by  Nebuchadnezzar's  army.  All  this  I,  myself, 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  373 

read  in  a  New  York  newspaper  that  is  said  to 
contain  "All  the  news  that  is  fit  to  print";  but 
I  here  and  now  declare  solemnly  that  there  is  not  a 
shred  of  truth  in  the  story,  for  I  saw  the  Bishop, 
and  I  saw  the  Park ! 

The  Round  Lake  meetings  are  held  to  this  day, 
courses  of  lectures  are  given,  and  classes  are  held. 
But  the  Park  of  Palestine,  which  was  to  surpass 
Chautauqua's  Park,  is  no  more.  It  was  built  on 
swampy  ground,  after  a  few  years  sank  under  the 
encroaching  waters  of  the  lake,  and  was  never 
restored. 

The  other  institution  founded  in  1878  was  the 
Kansas  Chautauqua  Assembly.  It  was  organized 
by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Gilbert,  then  a  pastor  of  a 
Methodist  Church  in  Topeka,  who  was  an  active 
Sunday  School  worker  and  started  other  assem- 
blies during  his  different  pastorates  in  the  Middle 
West.  It  was  held  for  three  years  at  Lawrence, 
then  at  Topeka  for  two  years,  and  finally  in  1883 
located  at  Ottawa,  about  fifty  miles  southwest 
from  Kansas  City.  Most  of  the  Assemblies  al- 
ready named  were  held  upon  camp  grounds,  but 
the  Ottawa  Assembly  was  unique  in  its  location 
upon  the  large  Forest  Park  just  outside  the  city, 
leased  for  this  purpose  by  the  authorities.  Being 
public  property,  no  cottages  could  be  built  upon  it, 


374     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

but  a  city  of  three  hundred  tents  arose  every 
summer,  and  after  a  fortnight  were  folded  and 
taken  away.  For  nearly  twenty  years  this  As- 
sembly was  under  the  direction  of  the  writer, 
and  in  every  respect  followed  the  lines  laid  down 
by  its  parent  Chautauqua.  Buildings  were  put 
up  for  classes,  which  served  as  well  for  the  annual 
agricultural  fair  in  the  fall.  In  our  first  year  at 
Ottawa,  our  normal  class  was  held  out  of  doors, 
the  members  seated  upon  the  unroofed  grand  stand 
of  the  Park,  and  I  was  teaching  them  with  the  aid 
of  a  blackboard.  Clouds  began  to  gather  rapidly 
and  a  storm  seemed  to  be  in  prospect.  I  paused 
in  the  lesson  and  said : 

"I  am  somewhat  of  a  stranger  here — how  long 
does  it  take  a  thunder  storm  to  arrive? " 

"About  two  minutes!"  responded  a  voice  from 
the  seats;  and  instantly  there  came  a  rush  to  cover, 
leaving  the  history  of  the  Bible  to  care  for  itself. 
We  were  just  in  time,  for  a  minute  later  it  was 
blowing  a  hurricane,  bending  the  great  trees  and 
breaking  their  branches.  I  had  heard  of  Kansas 
cyclones,  had  been  shown  a  "cyclone  cellar,"  and 
only  the  day  before  had  taken  dinner  in  a  house  of 
which  one  end  had  been  blown  clean  off  by  a 
cyclone.  As  we  stood  in  a  building  which  we  had 
named  "Normal  Hall,"  I  asked  a  lady  by  the 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  375 

window,  "Is  this  a  cyclone?"  She  glanced  with- 
out and  then  calmly  said:  "No,  this  is  a  straight 
wind." 

In  ten  minutes  the  tornado  was  over  and  we 
reassembled  for  the  lesson.  Kansas  people  seemed 
to  accept  occurrences  like  this  as  all  in  the  day's 
work.  One  weather-story  of  Kansas  reminds  of 
another.  On  my  first  visit  to  that  State  in  1882, 
the  last  year  of  the  Assembly  at  Topeka,  I  was 
standing  in  front  of  the  hotel,  thinking  of  the 
historic  events  in  Kansas, — where  the  Civil  War 
actually  began,  though  unrealized  at  the  time, — 
when  I  saw  nearby  a  rather  rough  looking,  bearded 
individual.  Thinking  that  he  might  be  one  of  the 
pioneers,  with  a  story  to  tell  of  the  early  days,  I 
stepped  up  and  began  in  the  conventional  way  by 
remarking : 

"I  don't  think  it's  going  to  rain." 

He  looked  me  over  and  responded : 

"Wai,  strangers  from  the  East  think  they  know 
when  it's  goin'  to  rain  and  when  it  ain't ;  but  us 
fellers  who've  lived  in  Kansas  thirty  years  never 
know  whether  it'll  rain  in  five  minutes  or  whether 
it  won't  rain  in  three  months." 

The  Ottawa  Assembly  was  one  of  the  best  in  the 
Chautauqua  system.  The  people  of  the  city  built 
for  its  use  a  large  tabernacle  and  halls  for  classes. 


376     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Beside  the  park  flows  the  River  Marais  du  Cygne, 
"the  Swamp  of  the  Swan,"  celebrated  in  one  of 
Whittier's  poems;  and  on  a  bank  overlooking  the 
river  was  erected  a  Hall  of  Philosophy,  copying  the 
old  Hall  at  Chautauqua,  except  that  its  columns 
were  lighter  and  ornamented,  improving  its 
appearance.  We  followed  the  Chautauqua  pro- 
grams as  far  as  possible,  having  many  of  the  same 
speakers  on  our  platform  and  Professor  Sherwin  to 
lead  the  music,  succeeded  later  by  Dr.  H.  R.  Pal- 
mer. The  teacher-training  work,  then  called  the 
Normal  Class,  was  maintained  thoroughly,  with 
adult,  intermediate,  and  children's  classes, — all 
wearing  badges  and  following  banners.  The  C.  L. 
S.  C.,  with  all  its  usages  of  camp  fires,  Recognition 
Day,  vigil,  procession  and  arches,  was  kept 
prominent.  We  established  a  Chautauqua  Boys' 
Club,  and  Girls'  Club  also.  We  could  not  conduct 
a  summer  school,  as  the  meeting  lasted  only  a 
fortnight,  but  we  had  lecture  courses  of  high 
character  upon  literature.  Kansas  contained 
more  old  soldiers  in  its  population  than  any  other 
State  in  the  Union,  and  the  Grand  Army  Day  at 
Ottawa  was  an  event  of  State-wide  interest.  Some 
distinguished  veterans  spoke  on  these  occasions, 
among  them  General  John  A.  Logan,  Major 
William  McKinley,  and  General  John  B.  Gordon 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  377 

of  the  Confederate  Army;  also  Private  A.  J. 
Palmer  of  New  York,  whose  "Company  D,  the 
Die-No-Mores,"  roused  enthusiasm  to  its  summit. 
One  element  in  Ottawa's  success  was  the  steadfast 
loyalty  of  the  city, — a  place  then  of  seven  or  eight 
thousand  people,  which  enjoyed  a  special  prohibi- 
tory law  some  years  earlier  than  the  rest  of  the 
State.  Almost  every  family  had  its  tent  in  Forest 
Park  and  lived  there  day  and  night  during  the 
fortnight  of  the  meetings.  Another  cause  of  its 
prosperity  was  its  able,  broad,  and  continuous 
management.  Its  President  for  many  years  was 
the  Rev.  Duncan  C.  Milner,  a  Chautauquan  from 
his  boots  up  to  his  head,  and  laboring  with  untiring 
energy  in  its  behalf. 

I  must  tell  an  amusing  story  of  our  camp  fire  one 
summer.  As  the  ground  was  by  this  time  well 
occupied,  we  decided  to  have  the  bonfire  on  a  raft 
out  in  the  stream,  while  the  crowd  sang  the  songs 
and  listened  to  the  speeches  from  the  Hall  of 
Philosophy  on  the  shore.  But  when  we  met  at 
night  for  the  services,  the  raft  and  the  materials 
ready  for  lighting  had  disappeared !  We  were  told 
that  the  janitor  had  thought  it  an  improvement  to 
have  the  fire  lighted  above,  in  a  bend  of  the  river, 
and  float  down  to  the  Hall.  We  waited,  not 
exactly  pleased  with  the  janitor's  unauthorized 


378     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

action,  and  after  a  time  we  heard  a  mighty  racket. 
The  raft  with  the  bonfire  was  floating  down  the 
stream,  while  around  it  was  a  convoy  of  about  a 
hundred  boats,  loaded  with  boys,  and  each  boy 
blowing  a  horn  or  yelling  in  the  most  vociferous 
manner.  That  put  an  end  to  any  prospect  of 
songs  and  speeches,  for  who  could  command  silence 
to  such  a  din?  But  that  was  not  all  nor  the  worst. 
The  janitor  tried  in  vain  to  anchor  his  raft,  but 
it  still  floated  downward.  We  saw  our  camp  fire 
sail  majestically  down  the  river,  until  it  ap- 
proached the  mill  dam  and  the  falls,  when  the 
boys  desperately  rowed  their  boats  out  of  danger. 
Raft  and  contents  went  over  the  falls  and  the  bon- 
fire was  quenched  in  the  devouring  flood.  As  we 
saw  it  going  to  its  doom,  I  distinctly  heard  the 
word  "dam"  spoken,  and  I  fear  it  was  intended  to 
include  a  final  "  n. "  But  that  was  the  last  attempt 
at  a  camp  fire.  When  I  proposed  one  at  the  next 
season,  the  entire  Round  Table  burst  out  with  a 
roaring  laugh. 

The  success  of  Ottawa  led  to  the  opening  of 
many  other  Assemblies  all  over  the  State,  and  by 
degrees  weakened  this,  the  mother  Chautauqua  of 
Kansas.  It  is  still  maintained,  but  in  a  small  way, 
as  one  of  the  chain  Chautauquas. 

In  1879,  a  Sunday  School  Congress  which  soon 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  379 

grew  into  an  Assembly  was  held  at  Ocean  Grove, 
on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  almost  the  only  place  where 
the  camp  meeting,  the  summer  resort,  and  the  Chau- 
tauqua  idea  have  lived  together  in  mutual  peace  and 
prosperity.  But  even  at  Ocean  Grove  the  Assembly 
has  been  overshadowed,  almost  out  of  sight,  by  the 
camp  meeting  and  the  summer  boarding-house  con- 
tingent. For  several  seasons  I  took  part  in  the 
work,  and  in  1881  conducted  the  Children's  Class. 
On  the  next  to  the  last  day  I  told  all  the  children 
to  meet  me  at  our  chapel,  naming  the  hour  when 
the  tide  would  be  at  its  lowest,  every  child  to 
bring  a  pail  and  shovel,  or  a  shingle,  if  his  shovel 
had  been  lost.  We  formed  a  goodly  procession  of 
three  hundred,  marching  down  the  avenue,  myself 
at  the  head.  At  the  beach  I  had  selected  a  suit- 
able area,  and  set  the  children  to  constructing 
out  of  the  damp  sand  a  model  two  hundred  feet 
long  of  Palestine,  the  land  of  which  we  had  been 
studying  in  the  daily  class.  It  was  a  sight  to  see 
those  young  nation  builders,  making  the  coastline, 
piling  up  the  mountains,  and  digging  out  the 
Jordan  valley  with  its  lakes.  Some  Biblically  in- 
clined gentlemen  aided  in  the  supervision,  and  ap- 
parently a  thousand  people  stood  above  and 
looked  on.  When  it  was  finished  I  walked  up  and 
down  the  model,  asking  the  children  questions 


380     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

upon  it,  and  was  somewhat  surprised  to  find  how 
much  they  knew.  Some  whose  conduct  in  the 
class  gave  little  promise  were  among  the  promptest 
to  exploit  their  knowledge.  It  was  my  purpose  to 
leave  the  map  that  it  might  be  seen  by  the  multi- 
tude until  the  tide  should  wash  it  away.  But  the 
boys  shouted,  "Can't  we  stamp  it  down  now?" 
and  I  rather  reluctantly  consented.  Palestine  has 
been  overrun,  and  trodden  down,  and  destroyed  by 
armies  of  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Turks,  Cru- 
saders, and  many  other  warriors,  but  the  land  never 
suffered  such  a  treading  down  by  the  Gentiles  as  on 
that  morning  at  Ocean  Grove. 

In  the  year  1879,  the  wind-wafted  seed  of 
Chautauqua  was  borne  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  an 
Assembly  was  founded  at  Pacific  Grove  in  Monte- 
rey, California.  I  know  not  whether  it  remains, 
but  the  Grove  has  been  the  place  of  meeting  for  the 
California  Methodist  Conference  year  after  year. 
Another  Assembly  combined  with  the  summer 
resort  was  established  this  year  at  Mountain  Lake 
in  Maryland,  a  charming  spot,  whose  elevation 
beside  a  lovely  lake  brings  coolness  to  the  summer 
air. 

One  more  Assembly  established  in  1879  must  not 
be  forgotten.  In  the  early  years  of  Chautauqua 
we  used  to  see  a  plainly  clad  man,  who  from  his 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  381 

appearance  might  have  been  a  farmer  or  a  lumber- 
man ;  in  fact,  he  was  the  proprietor  of  a  large  saw 
and  planing  mill.  This  man  was  at  every  meeting, 
listened  intently  and  took  full  notes,  for  he  was 
intelligent,  reading  good  books,  and  ardent  in  his 
devotion  to  Chautauqua.  For  years  he  was  one  of 
my  friends,  but,  alas !  I  have  forgotten  his  name. 
He  lived  in  Northern  Indiana,  and  in  1879  was 
able  to  interest  enough  people  to  start  an  Assembly 
at  Island  Park  at  Rome  City,  Indiana,  not  far 
from  the  Michigan  line.  He  became  its  Secretary, 
managed  its  finances,  and  called  upon  the  Rev.  A.  H. 
Gillet,  one  of  Dr.  Vincent's  lieutenants,  to  conduct 
it.  For  many  years  Island  Park  was  one  of  the 
foremost  children  of  Chautauqua  in  its  program 
and  its  attendance.  It  was  situated  upon  an 
island  in  a  lovely  lake,  with  bridges  leading  to  the 
mainland,  where  most  of  the  tents  and  cottages 
were  placed,  and  where  buildings  were  erected  for 
the  normal  classes  and  the  kindergarten;  the 
Tabernacle,  seating  2500,  being  upon  the  island 
which  was  bright  with  flower  beds  amid  winding 
paths.  For  years  Island  Park  was  a  center  of 
Chautauqua  influence  and  strong  in  promoting 
the  C.  L.  S.  C.,  but  like  many  other  Assemblies, 
it  failed  to  receive  financial  support  and  was 
abandoned. 


382      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

Two  great  Assemblies,  both  closely  following  the 
path  of  Chautauqua,  were  founded  in  the  year 
1880.  One  of  these  was  Monona  Lake,  near  Madi- 
son, Wis.  It  was  established  by  the  State  Sunday 
School  Association,  its  founder  and  first  president 
being  the  Hon.  Elihu  Colman  of  Fond  du  Lac. 
Like  Ottawa  in  Kansas,  it  was  an  assembly  of 
tents,  not  of  cottages.  The  first  session,  a  small 
gathering,  was  held  in  1880  on  the  shores  of  Green 
Lake,  one  of  the  five  hundred  lakes  of  Wisconsin; 
but  in  the  following  year  it  was  removed  to  Monona 
Lake,  one  of  the  five  surrounding  the  capital  city, 
Madison.  After  Mr.  Colman,  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Stein, 
D.D.,  became  President,  and  for  nearly  a  gener- 
ation, Mr.  Moseley,  a  bookseller  of  Madison,  was 
its  efficient  secretary,  business  manager,  and  organ- 
izer of  its  programs.  The  standards  of  Monona 
Lake  were  high  and  its  work  was  thorough,  but 
for  lack  of  adequate  support,  it  was  given  up  after 
nearly  thirty  years  of  usefulness  and  the  point 
became  an  amusement  park. 

Among  those  prominent  in  the  early  seasons 
at  Monona  Lake  was  the  Rev.  O.  P.  Bestor,  who 
was  active  in  promoting  the  C.  L.  S.  C.  He 
brought  with  him  his  son,  who  began  as  a  small  boy 
attending  the  Assembly,  and  formed  the  assembly- 
habit  so  strongly  that  in  the  after  years  he  grew 


CHAUTAUQUA'S  ELDER  DAUGHTERS  383 

up  to  be  the  President  of  the  Chautauqua  Institu- 
tion—Albert E.  Bestor,  LL.D. 

The  other  notable  Chautauqua  started  in  1880 
was  the  New  England  Assembly  at  South  Fram- 
ingham,  Mass.,  originally  in  closer  affiliation  with 
the  original  Chautauqua  than  any  other  Assembly, 
for  it  chose  Dr.  Vincent  as  Superintendent  of 
Instruction,  and  many  of  its  speakers  were  also  on 
the  Chautauqua  program.  It  drew  from  all  the 
New  England  States,  until  its  success  led  to  the 
establishment  of  other  Assemblies  at  Fryeburg, 
Maine,  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  at  Plain ville, 
Conn.  One  of  Dr.  Vincent's  assistants  at  the 
Framingham  Assembly  was  the  Dr.  A.  E.  Dunning, 
at  first  Congregational  Secretary  of  Sunday 
School  work,  later  Editor  of  the  Congregationalist. 
Dr.  Vincent,  after  a  few  years,  gave  the  Assembly 
into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Dunning  and  the  writer,  and 
sometimes  we  conducted  it  jointly ;  at  other  times 
in  successive  years.  On  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  grounds  and  the  adjoining  lake  arose  another 
Hall  of  Philosophy,  like  the  one  at  Chautauqua,  and 
all  the  Chautauqua  customs  were  followed — C.  L. 
S.  C.,  Normal  Class,  Children's  Classes,  and  the 
rest.  The  first  President  was  the  Rev.  William 
R.  Clark,  who  was  instrumental  in  locating  the 
Assembly  upon  the  ground  of  a  camp  meeting 


384     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

which  it  succeeded.  It  was  continued  for  more 
than  a  generation,  but  at  last  succumbed  to  chang- 
ing times.  Perhaps  it  might  have  continued  longer, 
if  throughout  its  history  it  had  not  been  encum- 
bered by  the  debts  of  the  former  Camp  Meeting 
Association. 

Our  chapter  has  already  grown  beyond  bounds. 
We  would  like  to  tell  the  stories  of  Monteagle, 
Tennessee,  of  Mount  Dora,  Florida,  of  De  Funiak 
Springs,  also  in  Florida,  of  the  Arkansas  and  Dakota 
and  Southern  California  Assemblies.  In  fifteen 
years  after  Chautauqua  began  there  were  nearly  a 
hundred  Assemblies,  each  independent  of  all  the 
others,  yet  all  in  friendly  relation  to  the  oldest 
and  greatest  of  them  all,  the  mother, — Chautauqua 
by  the  Lake. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

WE  have  seen  how  Chautauquas  sprung  up 
throughout  the  land,  inspired  by  the  example  of 
the  original  Assembly  beside  the  lake.  All  these 
were  independent,  arranging  their  own  programs 
and  securing  their  own  speakers.  Chautauqua 
never  took  a  copyright  upon  the  name  or  a  patent 
for  the  idea.  It  was  natural,  however,  for  many 
of  these  Assemblies  to  combine  their  interests,  for 
it  soon  found  that  half  a  dozen  Chautauquas  in 
the  same  section  could  save  expenses  by  employing 
the  same  group  of  speakers  and  passing  them  on 
from  one  gathering  to  another.  There  were  al- 
ready lyceum  bureaus  offering  lecturers  and  en- 
tertainers. At  first  the  Assemblies  secured  a  few 
of  their  speakers  from  these  offices,  and  after  a  few 
years  their  entire  programs  were  arranged  in 
conjunction  with  the  bureaus.  Finally  the  lyceum 
agencies  began  to  organize  and  conduct  assem- 
blies directly,  and  thus  the  Chautauqua  circuit  or 
the  system  of  a  Chautauqua  chain  was  developed. 
*s  385 


386     THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

One  office  in  Chicago,  the  Redpath  Bureau,  is  said 
to  conduct  three  thousand  Chautauqua  assem- 
blies every  year,  others  have  charge  of  a  thousand 
apiece,  while  there  are  lesser  chains  of  fifty,  twenty- 
five  or  a  dozen  assemblies.  I  have  been  officially 
informed  that  in  the  year  1919,  ten  thousand 
chain  Chautauquas  were  held  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  They  are  to  be  found  everywhere, 
but  their  most  popular  field  is  in  the  Middle  West, 
where  "the  Chautauqua"  is  expected  every  year 
by  the  farming  communities.  These  bureaus  and 
the  "talent"  which  they  employ  have  been  com- 
bined in  an  organization  for  mutual  interest,  to 
avoid  reduplication  in  the  same  locality,  to  secure 
their  workers  and  arrange  their  programs.  This 
is  named  the  International  Lyceum  and  Chautau- 
qua Association,  holding  an  annual  convention  at 
which  the  organizers  and  the  participants  upon 
the  programs  come  face  to  face  and  form  their 
engagements.  The  circuit  system  has  arisen 
largely  through  economic  causes;  the  saving  of 
expense  by  efficient  organization,  the  elimination 
of  long  railroad  jumps  from  Assembly  to  Assembly, 
guarantee  of  continuous  engagement  to  attractive 
speakers,  better  publicity,  and  the  concentration  of 
responsibility.  It  is  found  that  the  most  success- 
ful Chautauquas  are  held,  not  in  cities,  nor  even 


YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  387 

in  large  towns,  but  in  the  smaller  places.  The 
town  of  a  thousand,  or  even  one  as  small  as  five 
hundred  inhabitants,  during  its  annual  Chautau- 
qua  week  will  rally  from  the  farms  and  hamlets 
two  thousand  people  to  hear  a  popular  lecture, 
five  or  seven  thousand  during  the  week.  In  each 
place  an  advance  agent  appears,  interviews  the 
business  men,  the  ministers,  and  the  heads  of  any 
clubs  or  improvement  societies,  and  obtains 
pledges  of  support  by  the  sale  of  a  definite  number 
of  tickets.  College  boys  make  up  the  tent  crews; 
a  Scout  Master  organizes  the  Boy  Scouts;  and 
trained  experts  arrange  for  the  advertising.  The 
"morning-hour  men"  give  lectures  in  courses  of 
uplifting  nature  on  civic  and  national  questions; 
the  popular  features  of  the  program  are  supplied 
by  entertainers,  musical  troupes,  bands,  artists,  and 
dramatic  companies.  It  is  a  fact  of  deeper  signif- 
icance than  many  recognize  that  political  leaders 
find  here  the  greatest  forum  for  their  messages. 
Many  of  these  orators  receive  more  than  fees  for 
their  speeches;  they  come  near  the  heart  of  the 
people,  they  reach  their  constituencies  and  dis- 
seminate their  views  more  widely  than  through 
any  other  agency.  Some  political  reformers  have 
won  not  only  prominence,  but  power  through 
these  chain  Chautauquas. 


388      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

It  may  be  remembered  that  while  the  Hon. 
William  Jennings  Bryan  was  Secretary  of  State  he 
received  some  criticism  and  even  ridicule  for  "hit- 
ting the  Chautauqua  trail"  and  "going  off  with 
the  yodelers."  On  that  subject  the  Baltimore 
Sun  said  in  an  editorial : 

If  it  could  be  demonstrated,  we  would  be  willing 
to  wager  that  the  average  Chautauqua  student  has 
a  far  better  knowledge  of  public  questions  than  the 
average  of  those  who  sneer.  And  whether  he  likes 
it  or  not,  no  public  official  of  to-day  can  afford  to 
disregard  the  Chautauqua  movement. 

Mr.  Bryan  himself  gave  this  testimony  in  the 
Review  of  Reviews: 

The  Chautauqua  affords  one  of  the  best  oppor- 
tunities now  presented  a  public  speaker  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  questions  of  interest  to  the  people.  The 
audience  is  a  select  one,  always  composed  of  the 
thoughtful  element  in  the  community,  and  as  they  pay 
admission,  they  stay  to  hear.  I  believe  that  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  progress  that  is  now  being  made 
along  the  line  of  moral  and  political  reform  is  traceable 
to  the  influence  of  the  Chautauqua. 

A  writer  in  The  Outlook  (September  18,  1918) 
says : 

I  have  studied  the  Chautauqua  speakers.  They 
command  the  admiration  of  the  honest  critic.  They 
deal  with  serious  subjects  as  experts.  They  carry 
men,  women  and  children  on  to  the  conclusion  of 


YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  389 

the  longest  lecture  by  knowing  when  to  lighten  at 
the  proper  moment  with  a  story  or  a  lilt  of  humor,  or 
sometimes  a  local  reference.  Said  a  village  woman  in 
my  hearing  of  a  fellow-speaker  on  the  problems  of 
patriotism,  "I  thought  at  first  he  would  be  hard  to 
follow,  but  I  surely  hated  when  he  had  to  stop." 
The  thermometer  was  reported  to  be  105°  in  the  tent. 
The  speaker  held  the  rapt  attention  of  the  people  for 
an  hour  and  a  half  in  a  philosophical  presentation  of 
the  causes  of  the  war  and  our  responsibilities  in  con- 
sequence. It  was  like  reading  a  solid  book  and 
condensing  it  with  marked  success  into  one  hearing. 
It  was  typical,  and  twenty  millions  are  reported  to  be 
listening  to  such  addresses  in  Chautauqua  tents  the 
country  over. 

In  the  magazine  The  World  To-Day  (September, 
1911),  I  read  the  following  by  George  L.  Flude: 

A  few  years  ago  I  saw  Senator  Robert  M.  La 
Follette  address  a  crowd  of  eight  thousand  people  at 
Waterloo,  Iowa.  For  two  hours  and  a  half  he  jammed 
insurgent  Republicanism  into  that  crowd.  He  was 
at  that  time  the  only  insurgent  in  the  party  and  had 
not  been  named  yet.  The  crowd  took  it  all  in.  They 
were  there  to  be  instructed,  not  to  hear  a  partisan 
speech.  Hence  their  attitude,  regardless  of  party 
affiliation,  was  a  receptive  one.  He  absolutely  con- 
verted that  crowd  into  insurgents  and  they  did  not 
know  it.  For  five  years  La  Follette  crammed  and 
jammed  "non-partisan"  talks  into  Chautauqua 
crowds  through  Iowa,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Ohio,  Ne- 
braska, and  Kansas.  The  average  audience  was  prob- 


390      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

ably  about  four  thousand  and  he  met  sixty  or  more 
audiences  each  summer;  240,000  people  inoculated 
with  insurgency  by  one  man. 

Occasionally  an  audience  finds  that  the  lecture 
is  not  what  was  looked  for.  Some  years  ago  a 
Western  Assembly  engaged  Senator  La  Follette, 
and  from  the  list  of  his  subjects  chose  "The 
World's  Greatest  Tragedy,"  expecting  a  sensa- 
tional attack  upon  the  greed  of  capitalists. 
A  great  crowd  assembled  to  see  "Senator  Bob 
jump  on  the  trusts."  He  gave  his  well-known 
literary  lecture  on  Hamlet,  a  critical  appreciation, 
without  a  word  on  current  affairs.  The  crowd 
sat,  first  puzzled,  then  baffled,  and  at  last  went 
away  dejected. 

A  newspaper  of  wide  circulation,  The  Christian 
Science  Monitor,  said : 

By  far  the  most  active  and  keenly  interested  voters 
of  the  country,  with  their  leaders,  forceful  in  shaping 
progressive  legislation,  have  come  during  the  last 
decade  from  States  where  this  Chautauqua  method  of 
cultivation  of  the  adult  population  has  been  most 
steadily  used,  and  the  end  is  not  yet,  since  now  the 
system  is  being  organized  in  a  thorough-going  way 
never  known  before.  Public  men,  educators,  artists, 
authors,  pioneers  in  discovery  of  unknown  lands  or 
of  secrets  of  nature,  who  get  the  ear  of  this  huge 
audience  season  after  season,  come  nearer  to  the  heart 


YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  391 

of  the  nation  and  observe  its  ways  of  living  better 
than  by  any  other  method. 

The  old  mother  Chautauqua  by  the  Lake  would 
not  like  to  be  held  responsible  for  all  the  utterances 
under  the  tents  of  her  ten  thousand  daughters. 
For  that  matter,  she  would  not  endorse  every- 
thing spoken  upon  her  own  platform  in  the  Amphi- 
theater, where  ''free  speech"  is  the  motto  and  the 
most  contradictory  opinions  are  presented.  But 
she  must  recognize  that  her  daughters  have  wielded 
a  mighty  power  in  forming  the  political  and  moral 
convictions  of  the  nation. 

The  bell  which  rang  at  Fair  Point  on  August  4, 
1874,  to  open  the  first  Assembly,  might  be  com- 
pared to  "The  shot  heard  'round  the  world"  from 
Concord  Bridge  in  1775,  for  in  answer  to  its  call 
ten  thousand  Chautauquas  have  arisen  on  the 
American  Continent.  The  question  might  be 
asked,  Why  have  none  of  the  ten  thousand  rivaled 
the  first,  the  original  Chautauqua? 

Many  of  these  opened  with  a  far  better  outfit 
of  external  accommodations,  with  more  money 
expended  upon  their  programs,  with  greater  ad- 
vertising publicity,  with  more  popular  attrac- 
tions. Yet  now  at  the  period  of  almost  fifty  years, 
not  another  among  the  ten  thousand,  either  of 
the  earlier  or  the  later  Assemblies,  holds  a  two 


392      THE  STORY  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

months'  program,  conducts  courses  of  study  of  a 
wide  range,  or  brings  together  even  one  quarter  of 
the  assemblage  which  every  year  gathers  upon  the 
old  Chautauqua  ground.  All  the  assemblies  which 
were  established  with  the  highest  promise  have 
either  been  abandoned  or  are  continued  as  chain 
Chautauquas,  meeting  for  a  week  only.  Let  us 
endeavor  to  answer  the  question — Why  does  the 
mother-Chautauqua  still  stand  supreme? 

In  the  judgment  of  this  writer,  who  has  known 
Chautauqua  almost  from  the  beginning,  and  has 
taken  part  in  fifty  similar  gatherings,  the  reasons 
for  its  supremacy  are  easily  seen  and  stated.  It 
was  established  by  two  men  of  vision,  one  of  whom 
was  also  a  practical  man  of  business,  and  both  men 
of  high  ideals  which  they  never  lowered  and  from 
which  they  and  their  successors  have  never 
swerved.  In  its  plans  from  first  to  last,  there  was 
a  unique  blending  of  religion,  education,  and 
recreation.  No  one  of  these  three  elements  has 
been  permitted  to  override  the  two  others,  and 
neither  of  them  has  been  sacrificed  to  win  popu- 
larity, although  on  the  other  side,  popular 
features  have  been  sought  for  within  just  limits. 
Never  has  the  aim  of  Chautauqua  been  to  make 
money;  it  has  had  no  dividends  and  no  stock- 
holders. It  has  opened  avenues  and  leased  lots 


YOUNGER  DAUGHTERS  393 

to  hundreds  of  people,  but  it  has  not  sought  finan- 
cial gain.  Neither  of  its  Founders  nor  any  of 
their  associates  have  been  enriched  by  it,  for  all 
profits — when  there  have  been  any — have  been 
expended  upon  improvements  or  enlargement  of 
plans.  It  has  shown  the  progressive  spirit,  while 
firm  in  its  principles,  open  to  new  ideas,  willing  to 
listen  to  both  sides  of  every  question.  It  has 
sought  to  attract  and  to  benefit  all  classes  in  the 
community,  not  setting  the  poor  against  the  rich, 
nor  the  rich  against  the  poor,  giving  a  welcome  to 
scholars  of  every  view  and  to  churches  of  every 
doctrine.  It  has  maintained  a  continuous,  con- 
sistent administration,  fortunate  in  finding  able 
and  broad-minded  men  to  carry  forward  the  con- 
ceptions of  its  founders.  Few  changes  have  been 
made  in  its  management  and  these  have  been 
without  a  revolution  or  a  renunciation  of  prin- 
ciples. Men  at  the  head  have  changed,  but  not 
the  policy  of  the  institution.  It  has  remained 
unshaken  in  its  loyalty  to  the  Christian  religion 
and  penetrated  through  and  through  with  the 
Christian  spirit,  without  flying  the  flag  or  wearing 
the  badge  of  any  one  denomination  of  Christians. 
These  have  been  the  principles  that  placed  Chau- 
tauqua  at  the  front  in  its  beginning  and  have  kept 
it  at  the  front  through  forty-eight  years. 


APPENDIX 


DISTINGUISHED   PREACHERS  AT   CHAU- 
TAUQUA 


Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 
Dr.  Charles  F.  Aked 
Rev.  Hugh  Black 
Bishop  C.  H.  Brent 
Bishop  F.  S.  Bristol 
Bishop  Phillips  Brooks 
Dean  Charles  R.  Brown 
Prof.  Sylvester  Burnham 
Bishop  William  Burt 
Dr.  S.  Parkes  Cadman 
Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark 
Rev.  R.  H.  Conwell 
Bishop  R.  Cleveland  Cox 
Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler 
Dr.  E.  W.  Donald 
Dr.  Daniel  Dorchester 
Rev.  Samuel  A.  Eliot 
Bishop  Samuel  Fallows 
Pres.  W.  H.  P.  Faunce 
Dr.  Harry  Emerson  Fos- 

dick 

Bishop  Cyrus  W.  Foss 
Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler 


Dr.  James  A.  Francis 
;  Dr.  Washington  Gladden 
Bishop  D.  A.  Goodsell 
Dr.  George  A.  Gordon 
Dr.  F.  W.  Gunsaulus 
Dr.  John  Hall 
Dr.  N.  D.  Hillis 
Dr.  P.  S.  Henson 
Dean  George  Hodges 
Bishop  E.  E.  Hoss 
Rev.  Lynn  Hough 
Bishop  Edwin  H.  Hughes 
Dr.  Charles  E.  Jefferson 
Bishop  A.  W.  Leonard 
Dr.  R.  S.  MacArthur 
Dr.  A.  Mackenzie 
Pres.  W.  D.  Mackenzie 
Bishop  F.  J.  McConnell 
Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell 
Dr.  W.  P.  Merrill 
Bishop  C.  B.  Mitchell 
Chaplain  W.  H.  Milburn 
I  Dr.  Philip  S.  Moxom 


395 


396 


APPENDIX 


Bishop  W.  F.  Oldham 
Bishop  J.  T.  Peck 
Bishop  H.  C.  Potter 
Rev.  G.  A.  Johnston  Ross 
Bishop    Matthew   Simp- 
son 

Dr.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage 
Bishop  Boyd  Vincent 
Bishop  John  H.  Vincent 


Bishop  W.  D.  Walker 
Bishop  H.  W.  Warren 
Bishop  Herbert  Welch 
Dr.  H.  L.  Willett 
Bishop  C.  D.  Williams 
Dr.  C.  F.  Wishart 
Dr.  Cornelius  Woelfkin 
Rabbi  Louis  Wolsey 


COLLEGE   PRESIDENTS  AND  OTHER 
EDUCATORS 


Prof.  Herbert  B.  Adams 
Pres.  E.  B.  Andrews 
Pres.  J.  B.  Angell 
Prof.  H.  T.  Bailey 
Pres.  J.  H.  Barrows 
Prof.  B.  P.  Bowne 
Prof.  H.  H.  Boyesen 
Prof.  P.  H.  Boynton 
Pres.  E.  B.  Bryan 
Pres.  N.  M.  Butler 
Com.  E.  E.  Brown 
Pres.  J.  H.  Carlisle 
Com.  P.  P.  Claxton 
Prof.  A.  S.  Cook 
Pres.  W.  H.  Crawford 
Prof.  M.  L.  D'Ooge 
Prof.  A.  S.  Draper 
Pres.  C.  W.  Eliot 
Prof.  R.  T.  Ely 
Pres.  John  Finley 


Prof.  Alcee  Fortier 
Pres.  W.  G.  Frost 
Pres.  C.  C.  Hall 
Pres.  G.  Stanley  Hall 
Pres.  W.  R.  Harper 
Dr.  W.  T.  Harris 
Prof.  A.  B.  Hart 
Mr.  Walter  L.  Hervey 
Prof.  Mark  Hopkins 
Mr.  James  L.  Hughes 
Prof.  William  James 
Pres.  D.  S.  Jordan 
Pres.  Henry  C.  King 
Prof.  C.  F.  Lavell 
Pres.  H.  N.  MacCracken 
Dean  Shailer  Mathews 
Pres.  J.  E.  McFadyen 
Pres.  Edward  Olson 
Mrs.  Alice  F.  Palmer 
Prof.  George  M.  Palmer 


APPENDIX 


397 


Col.  Francis  W.  Parker 
Prof.  F.  G.  Peabody 
Pres.  A.  V.  V.  Raymond 
Pres.  B.  P.  Raymond 
Pres.  Rush  Rhees 
Pres.  J.  G.  Schurman 
Pres.  Julius  H.  Seelye 
Prof.    Thomas    D.    Sey- 
mour 
Prof.  Morse  Stephens 


Pres.  E.  E.  Sparks 
Pres.  C.  F.  Thwing 
Prof.  Moses  C.  Tyler 
Dr.  Herman  Von  Hoist 
Pres.   Booker   T.    Wash- 
ington 

Prof.  L.  A.  Weigle 
Pres.  B.  I.  Wheeler 
Pres.  C.  D.  Wright 


AUTHORS  AND   EDITORS 


Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 
Mrs.  G.  R.  Alden  (Pan- 
sy) 

Mr.  Norman  Angell 
Mr.  John  K.  Bangs 
Prof.  Earl  Barnes 
Rabbi  H.  Berkowitz 
Mr.  John  G.  Brooks 
Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley 
Mr.  Richard  Burton 
Mr.  Geo.  W.  Cable 
Mr.  Ralph  Connor 
Mr.  G.  Willis  Cooke 
Rev.  S.  McChord  Croth- 

ers 

Dr.  W.  J.  Dawson 
Prof.  Henry  Drummond 
Dr.  A.  E.  Dunning 
Mr.  John  Fiske 
Mr.  John  Fox 


Mr.  Hamlin  Garland 
Mr.  H.  A.  Gibbons 
Rabbi  R.  J.  H.  Gottheil 
Mr.  John  T.  Graves 
Rabbi  Moses  Gries 
Mr.  Edward  H.  Griggs 
Dr.  Edward  E.  Hale 
Mr.  Norman  Hapgood 
Col.  T.  W.  Higginson 
Dr.  R.  S.  Holmes 
Mr.  Hamilton  W.  Mabie 
Mr.  S.  S.  McClure 
Mr.  Donald  G.  Mitchell 
Dr.  R.  G.  Moulton 
Mr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page 
Rear  Admiral  Peary 
Prof.  Bliss  Perry 
Miss  Agnes  Repplier 
Mr.  E.  J.  Ridgway 
Mr.  J.  Whitcomb  Riley 


398 


APPENDIX 


Mr.  E.  Thompson  Seton 
Mr.  Elliott  F.  Shepard 
Prof.  E.  E.  Slosson 
Judge  A.  W.  Tourgee 
Dr.  Leon  H.  Vincent 


Gen.  Lew  Wallace 
Dr.  Wm.  Hayes  Ward 
Mr.  Henry  Watterson 
Mrs.  Kate  D.  Wiggin 
Prof.  C.  T.  Winchester 


LEADERS   IN   SOCIAL  REFORM 


Miss  Jane  Addams 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony 
Mrs.  Mary  Antin 
Mrs.  Maude  B.  Booth 
Mrs.  Carrie  C.  Catt 
Hon.  Everett  Colby 
Mr.  Anthony  Comstock 
Dr.  Kate  B.  Davis 
Mr.  W.  R.  George 
Mr.  John  B.  Gough 
Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe 
Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey 
Mrs.  Lucia  A.  Mead 
Mr.  John  Mitchell 
Prof.  Scott  Nearing 
Mr.  Thomas  M.  Osborne 
Prof.  Francis  Peabody 
Mrs.  P.  V.  Pennybacker 


Mr.  Jacob  A.  Riis 
Mr.  Raymond  Robins 
Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw 
Prof.  E.  A.  Steiner 
Rev.  Charles  Stetzle 
Mr.  J.  G.  Phelps  Stokes 
Mrs.  Rose  Pastor  Stokes 
Dr.  Josiah  Strong 
Prof.  Graham  Taylor 
Commander  Booth- 

Tucker 

Mrs.  Booth  Tucker 
Hon.  Robert  Watchorn 
Miss  Francis  E.  Williard 
Mr.  Robert  Woods 
Mr.  John  G.  Woolley 
Prof.  Charles  Zeublin 


POLITICAL   LEADERS 


Pres.  U.  S.  Grant 
Pres.  R.  B.  Hayes 
Pres.  J.  A.  Garfield 
Pres.  Wm.  McKinley 
Pres.  Theodore  Roosevelt 


Pres.  W.  H.  Taft 
Hon.  Geo.  W.  Alger 
Gen.  Russell  A.  Alger 
Gov.  G.  W.  Atkinson 
Mrs.  George  Bass 


APPENDIX 


399 


Gov.  J.  A.  Beaver. 
Gen.  John  C.  Black 
Hon.  W.  J.  Bryan 
Gov.  Geo.  A.  Carlson 
Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax 
Lieut.  Gov.  L.  S.  Chan- 

ler 

Senator  J.  P.  Dolliver 
Gov.  Joseph  W.  Folk 
Gen.  John  B.  Gordon 
Gov.  H.  S.  Hadley 
Hon.  Murat  Halstead 
Senator  M.  A.  Hanna 
Miss  Mary  Garrett  Hay 


Gov.  F.  W.  Higgins 
Gen.  0.  O.  Howard 
Gov.  C.  E.  Hughes 
Judge  W.  T.  Jerome 
Gov.  R.  M.  LaFollette 
Gen.  John  A.  Logan 
Mayor  J.  P.  Mitchel 
Gov.  B.  B.  Odell 
Gov.  R.  E.  Pattison 
Hon.  W.  H.  Prendergast 
Gov.  E.  S.  Stuart 
Gov.  R.  L.  Taylor 
Hon.  G.  W.  Wickersham 
Gen.  Leonard  Wood 


DISTINGUISHED   FOREIGNERS 


The  Earl  of  Aberdeen 
The   Countess    of   Aber- 
deen 

Hon.  Percy  Alden 
Canon  S.  A.  Barnett 
Rev.  Joseph  A.  Beet 
Ram  Chandra  Bose 
The   Right   Hon.   James 

Bryce 

Rev.  R.  J.  Campbell 
Sir       Chentung       Lieng 

Chang 

Mrs.  L.  Ormiston  Chant 
Dr.  Marcus  Dods 
Prof.  Henry  Drummond 
Mr.  W.  Aver  Duncan 


Principal    A.     M.    Fair- 
bairn 

Mr.  J.  G.  Fitch 
Prof.  T.  R.  Glover 
The  Bishop  of  Hereford 
Mrs.      Forbes-Robertson 

Hall 

Prof.  J.  Stoughton  Hoi- 
born 
Prince  Larazovich  Hreb- 

lianovich 

Charles  Rann  Kennedy 
Prof.  J.  P.  Mahaffy 
Prof.  Boni  Maury 
Rev.  Mark  Guy  Pearse 
Rev.  Dr.  Percival  (Rugby) 


400 


APPENDIX 


Prof.  William  M.  Ram-  Lady  Henry  Somerset 

say  Miss  Kate  Stevens 

Mr.  Owen  Seaman  The        Baroness        Von 
Rev.  W.  O.  Simpson  Suttner 

Dr.  George  Adam  Smith  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson 
Mrs.  Philip  Snowden 

CHAUTAUQUA  RECOGNITION   DAY 
ORATIONS 


1882  Bishop  H.  W.  Warren 

'83  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 

'84  Dr.  W.  C.  Wilkinson 

'85  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale 

'86  Pres.  J.  H.  Carlisle 

'87  Dr.  J.  T.  Duryea 

'88  Bishop  H.  W.  Warren 

'89  Dr.  David  Swing 

'90  Mrs.  Alice  F.  Palmer 


"Brain  and  Heart" 

' '  The  Democracy 
of  Learning" 

"Literature  as  a 
Good  of  Life" 

1 '  Questions  and  An- 
swers" 

"Redeeming  the 
Time" 

"The  True  Cul- 
ture" 

"The  Possibilities 
of  Culture" 

"The  Beautiful 
and  the  Useful" 

"Education          is 


Life" 
'91     Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore     "The          Highest 

Aristocracy" 
'92     Dr.  F.  W.  Gunsaulus  "The      Ideal      of 

Culture" 
'93     Dr.  Joseph  Cook  "  Columnar  Truths 

in  Scripture" 


APPENDIX  401 

94    Dr.  E.  E.  Hale  "The  Education  of 

a  Prince" 

'95     Dr.  H.  W.  Mabie  "Literature    as    a 

Resource" 

'96     Pres.  C.  W.  Eliot  "America's     Con- 

tribution to  Civi- 
lization" 

'97     Dr.  J.  F.  Goucher  "Individualism" 

'98     Bishop  J.  H.  Vincent  "The  Chautauqua 

Idea" 

'99     Gov.  G.  W.  Atkinson  "Modern        Edu- 

cational Re- 
quirements" 

'oo     Pres.  A.  V.  V.  Raymond      "Education  in  its 

Relation  to  Life" 

'01     Pres.  E.  B.  Andrews  "Problems  of 

Greater  Amer- 
ica" 

'02     Mr.  E.  H.  Griggs  "The  Use  of  the 

Margin" 

'03     Hon.  W.  T.  Harris  "University      and 

School  Exten- 
sion as  Sup- 
ported by  the 
Church" 

'04    Mr.  E.  H.  Griggs  "Self -Culture 

Through  the  Vo- 
cation" 

'05     Miss  Jane  Addams  "Work   and   Play 

as  Factors  in 
Education" 

'06     Mr.  E.  H.  Griggs  "Public  Education 

and  the  Problem 
of  Democracy" 


402  APPENDIX 

'07  Pres.  E.  H.  Hughes 

'08  Pres.  H.  C.  King 

'09  Pres.  W.  H.  P.  Faunce 

'10  Mr.  E.  H.  Griggs 

'11  Dr.  G.  E.  Vincent 

'12  Dr.  Earl  Barnes 

'13  Prof.  S.  C.  Schmucker 

'14  Dean  Shailer  Mathews 

'15  Pres.  E.  B.  Bryan 

'16  Mr.  E.  H.  Griggs 

'17  Dr.  G.  E.  Vincent 

'18  Bishop  F.  J.  McConnell 

'19  Bishop  C.  H.  Brent 

'20  Dr.  L.  Howard  Mellish 


' '  Knowledge  and 
Power" 

"Revelation  of 
Personality" 

"Ideals  of  Mod- 
ern Education" 

"Literature  and 
Culture" 

"The  Larger  Sel- 
fishness" 

"Being  Born 

Again" 

"What  Next?" 

"Vocations  and 
Avocations" 

"Who  are  Good 
Citizens?" 

"World- War  and 
Ethics" 

"The  Meaning  of 
America" 

"Ideals  of  Leader- 
ship" 

"The  Opportuni- 
ties of  the  Mind" 

"The  Way  into 
Life's  Greater 
Values" 


APPENDIX  403 

CLASS  DIRECTORY,  CHAUTAUQUA  HOME 
READING  CIRCLES— C.  L.  S.  C. 

Class  1882,  "  The  Pioneers  " 

Motto— "  From  Height  to  Height." 

Emblem— The  hatchet. 

President— J.  L.  Hurlburt,  Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

Secretary — Miss  May  E.  Wightman,    238  Main  St., 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  L.  J.  Harter,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1883,  "  The  Vincents  " 

Motto — "Step  by  step,  we  gain  the  height." 
Emblem — The  sweet  pea. 

President — Mrs.  Thos.  Alexander,  Franklin,  Pa. 
Secretary — Miss  Anne  Hitchcock,  Burton,  O. 
Treasurer — Miss  M.  J.  Perrine,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1884,  "  The  Irrepressibles  " 

Motto — "Press  forward,  he  conquers  who  will." 

Emblem — The  golden  rod. 

President — Miss    Anna    McDonald,    630    Magnolia 

Ave.,  Long  Beach,  Calif. 
Treasurer — Mr.  F.  A.  Kinsley,  461   Ashland  Ave., 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Secretary-Trustee — Mrs.  Lizzie  Wilcox,  Chautauqua, 

N.  Y. 

Class  1885,  "  The  Invincibles  " 

Motto — "Press  on,  reaching  after  those  things  which 

are  before." 
Emblem — The  heliotrope. 


404  APPENDIX 

President— Mr.  E.  C.  Dean,  Delphi,  N.  Y. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  T.  J.  Bentley,  Springboro, 
Pa. 

Class  1886,  "  The  Progressives  " 

Motto— "We  study  for  light  to  bless  with  light." 
Emblem — The  aster. 

President — Miss  Sara  Soule,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Secretary — Mrs.    M.    V.    Rowley,    112    Vassar   St., 

Cleveland,  O. 
Treasurer — Miss  Lucy  Woodwell,  25  Indiana  Ave., 

Somerville,  Mass. 
Trustee— Dr.  Ill  Long,  1339  Main  St.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Class  1887,  "  The  Pansy  " 

Motto — "Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  within  thee." 
Emblem — The  pansy. 

President— Mr.  H.  E.  Barrett,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Secretary — Miss  Alice  M.  Bentley,  Meadville,  Pa. 
Treasurer — Miss  Letitia  Flocker,  Evergreen  Road, 

R.  F.  D.,  N.  S.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Trustee — Miss  Adell  Clapp,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1888,  "  The  Plymouth  Rock  " 

Motto — "Let  us  be  seen  by  our  deeds." 

Emblem — The  geranium. 

President— Mr.  G.  W.  Bartlett,  Hamburg,  N.  Y. 

Secretary-Treasurer — Miss     Agnes     S.      Chalmers, 

Amsterdam,  N.  Y. 
Trustee— Mr.  G.  W.  Bartlett,  Hamburg,  N.  Y. 

Class  1889,  "  The  Argonauts  " 

Motto — "Knowledge  unused  for  the  good  of  others  is 
more  vain  than  unused  gold." 


APPENDIX  405 

Emblem — The  daisy. 

President— Rev.  J.  E.  Rudisill,  Columbus,  O. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Mary  C.  Morris,  Point  Pleasant,  N.  J. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  D.  F.  Emery,  Greenville,  Pa. 
Trustee—Rev.  C.  C.  Creegan,  Marietta,  O. 

Class  1890,  "  The  Pierians  " 

Motto — "Redeeming  the  time." 
Emblem — The  tube  rose. 

President — Rev.  J.  R.  Morris,  Homer  City,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss  Ada  Benner,  5512 
Center  Ave.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Class  1891,  "  The  Olympians  " 

Motto — "So  run  that  ye  may  obtain." 

Emblem — The  laurel  and  the  white  rose. 

President — Mrs.  George  T.  Guernsey,  Independence, 

Kans. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Miss   Marie  A.  Daniels,    New 

Britain,  Conn. 
Trustee — Mrs.  George  T.  Guernsey,  Independent 

Kans. 

Class  1892,  "  Columbia  " 

Motto— "Seek  and  ye  shall  find." 

Emblem — The  carnation. 

President— Mrs.  Clara  L.  McCray,  Bradford,  Pa. 

Secretary — Miss  Annie  E.  Jackson,  Port  Deposit, 

Treasurer — Mrs.  Chas.  B.  Adams,  Zanesville,  O. 

Trustee— Mrs.  Clara  L.  McCray,  Bradford,  Pa. 

Class  1893,  "  The  Athenians  " 

Motto — "Study  to  be  what  you  wish  to  seem." 
Emblem — The  acorn. 


406  APPENDIX 

President — Mrs.  J.  J.  Matthews,  623  N.  Negley  Ave., 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.   Nettie  C.   Rice,   Ebens- 

burgh,  Pa. 
Trustee— Prof.  Thomas  H.  Paden,  New  Concord,  O. 

Class  1894,  "  The  Philomatheans  " 

Motto— "Ubi  mel,  ibi  apes." 
Emblem — The  clover. 
President— Dr.  A.  C.  Ellis,  Oil  City,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Mrs.     Sanford     Lynn 
Porter,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1895,  "  The  Pathfinders  " 

Motto— "Truth  will  make  you  free." 
Emblem — The  nasturtium. 
President — Mrs.  George  P.  Hukill,  Franklin,  Pa. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  E.  L.  Ploss,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Secretary-Trustee — Miss  Catherine  Lawrence,  610  E. 
23rd  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Class  1896,  "  The  Truth-Seekers  " 

Motto— "Truth  is  eternal." 

Emblem — The  forget-me-not.     The  Greek  lamp. 

President — Mrs.  Margaret  A.  Seaton,  1943  E.  86th 

St.,  Cleveland,  O. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Miss  Emily  A.  Birchgard,  1826 

Penrose  Ave.,  Cleveland,  O. 
Trustee — Mr.  John  R.  Connor,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1897,  "  The  Romans  " 

Motto— "Veni,  Vidi,  Vici." 
Emblem— The  ivy. 


APPENDIX  407 

President — Mrs.  Harriet  M.  Dunn,  Brooklyn,  Mich. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  Anna  Heilman,  Greenville, 

Pa. 
Trustee — Mrs.  Harriet  M.  Dunn,  Brooklyn,  Mich. 

Class  1898,  "  The  Laniers  " 

Motto— "  The  humblest  life  that  lives  may  be  divine." 
Emblem— The  violet. 

President — Mrs.  G.  E.  Tanner,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss  Fannie  B .  Collins, 
Grandview,  O. 

Class  1899,  "  The  Patriots  " 

Motto—' '  Fidelity,  Fraternity. ' ' 

Emblem— The  flag. 

President — Mrs.    E.    E.    Sparks,    444     Macon    St., 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Secretary— Mrs.    M.    Barnard,    1637    E.    66th    St., 

Cleveland,  0. 

Treasurer— Mrs.  J.  V.  Ritts,  Butler,  Pa. 
Trustee— Mrs.  Ella  Richards,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1900,  "  The  Nineteenth  Century  " 

Motto— "  Faith  in  the  God  of  Truth ;  hope  for  the  un- 
folding centuries ;  charity  toward  all  endeavor." 

Emblem — The  evergreen. 

President — Mrs.  J.  H.  Montgomery,  Chautauqua, 
N.  Y. 

Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  L.  B.  Watts,  5740 
Cabanna  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Trustee — Mrs.  J.  H.  Montgomery,  Chautauqua, 
N.  Y. 


4o8  APPENDIX 

Class  1901,  "  The  Twentieth  Century  " 

Motto— "Light,  Love,  Life." 

Emblem — The  palm. 

President — Mrs.    Lucy  Mendell  George,  Wellsburg, 

W.  Va. 
Secretary — Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Steward,   Westwood, 

N.  J. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  Clara  Lawrence,  610  E.  23rd  St., 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Trustee — Miss  Margaret  Hackley,  Georgetown,  Ky. 

Class  1902,  "  The  Altrurians  " 

Motto— "Not  for  self,  but  for  all." 
Emblem — Golden  glow. 

President — Mrs.  J.  A.  Walker,  Brownwood,  Tex. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss    Frances    David- 
son, Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1903,  "  The  Quarter  Century  " 

Motto — "What  is  excellent  is  permanent." 

Emblem — The  cornflower. 

President — Mr.  Edward  E.  Sparks,  444  Macon  St., 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Secretary — Miss  Ida  M.  Quimby,  20  Spring  St.,  East 

Orange,  N.  J. 
Treasurer — Miss  Evelyn  Dewey,  20  Spring  St.,  East 

Orange,  N.  J. 
Trustee — Mr.   Edward  E.   Sparks,  444  Macon  St., 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Class  1904,  "  Lewis  Miller  " 

Motto — "The  horizon  widens  as  we  climb." 
Embl  em — Clematis . 


APPENDIX  409 

President — Mrs.  Laura  Johnston,  30  W.  4th  St.,  Oil 

City,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Miss     Louise     Nicholson,     89 

Union  St.,  Blue  Island,  111. 
Trustee — Miss  Grace  E.  Beck,  424  Mahoning  St., 

Monongahela,  Pa. 

Class  1905,  "  The  Cosmopolitan  " 

Motto — "A  man's  reach  should  exceed  his  grasp." 
Emblem — The  cosmos. 

President — Dr.  James  Babbitt,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  J.  J.  Bowden,  Johnstown, 

Pa. 
Trustee — Miss  Minnie  Edgerton,  104  Prospect  Ave., 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Class  1906,  "  John  Ruskin  " 

Motto — "To  love  light  and  seek  knowledge." 
Emblem — Easter  lily. 

President— Mrs.  Theo.  Hall,  Jr.,  Ashtabula,  O. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss  Irena  Roach,  Box 
126,  Round  Lake,  N.  Y. 

Class  1907,  "  George  Washington  " 

Motto — "The  aim  of  education  is  character." 

Emblem — The  scarlet  salvia. 

President — Mrs.  Geo.  Coblentz,  1045  W.  9th  St.,  Erie, 

Pa. 

Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  A.  H.  Marvin,  Oberlin,  0. 
Trustee — Miss  Rannie  Webster,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1908,  "  Tennyson  " 

Motto — "To  strive,  to  seek,  to  find,  to  yield." 
Emblem — The  red  rose. 


4io  APPENDIX 

President — Prof.      Samuel     C.     Schmucker,     West 

Chester,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss   Sarah   E.    Ford 

169  Court  St.,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 

Class  1909,  "  Dante  " 

Motto — "On  and  fear  not." 
Emblem — The  grapevine. 

President — Mrs.  O.  B.  Shallenberger,  Beaver,  Pa. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  Hiram  J.  Baldwin,  Fal- 
coner, N.  Y. 
Trustee— Mrs.  Thos.  B.  Hill,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1910,  "  Gladstone  " 

Motto — "Life  is  a  great  and  noble  calling." 

Emblem — The  beech. 

President — Miss  Nannie  S.  Stockett,  Annapolis,  Md. 

Secretary — Mr.  James  Bird,  1028  Ann  St.,  Parkers- 
burg,  W.  Va. 

Treasurer — Mr.  J.  J.  McWilliams,  11500  Euclid  Ave., 
Cleveland,  O. 

Class  1911,  "  Longfellow  " 

Motto — "Act,  act  in  the  living  present." 
Emblem — The  young  Hiawatha  and  the  hydrangea. 
President— Mrs.  M.  L.  Chattin,  Temple,  Tex. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Effa  Brown,  McKeesport,  Pa. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  L.  B.  Yale,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Trustee— Mrs.  Walter  King,  323  W.  83rd  St.,  New 
York  City. 

Class  1912,  "  Shakespeare  " 

Motto — "To  thine  own  self  be  true." 
Emblem — E  giant  i  ne . 


APPENDIX 


President—  Mrs.  S.  F.  Clarke,  4th  St.,  Freeport,  Pa. 
Secretary  —  Miss  M.  E.  Phillips,  Marion,  Ala. 
Treasurer-Trustee—Mrs.  S.  F.  Clarke,  4th  St.,  Free- 
port,  Pa. 

Class  1913,  "  Athene  " 

Motto  —  "Self  -reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 

these  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power." 
Emblem—  The  owl. 
President—  Rev.    W.    C.    McKnight,    Birmingham, 

Mich. 

Secretary  —  Mr.  Robert  Adams,  Warren,  Pa. 
Treasurer  —  Mrs.   Alice  J.   McKnight,   Birmingham, 

Mich. 
Trustee  —  Mrs.  J.  H.  Knepper,  924  Michigan  Ave., 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Class  1914,  "  Dickens  " 

Motto  —  "The  voice  of  time  cries  to  man,  'Advance.'  " 

Emblem  —  Wild  rose. 

President—  Prof.  Chas.  E.  Rhodes,  507  Potomac  Ave., 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Secretary  —  Miss  Rose  Webster,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Treasurer-Trustee—Miss  Eleanor  Clark,  noi  King 

Ave.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Class  1915,  "Jane  Addams  " 

Motto  —  "Life  more  abundant." 

Emblem  —  American  laurel. 

President  —  Mr.  W.  H.  Hamlin,  Tougaloo,  Miss. 

Secretary-Treasurer  —  Mrs.   A.   F.    B.    Morris,   6716 

Thomas  Bldg.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Trustee  —  Mrs.  Ida  B.  Cole,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 


412  APPENDIX 

Class  1916,  "  The  Internationals  " 

Motto — "Knowledge  maketh  all  mankind  akin." 

Emblem— The  holly. 

President — Miss  Laura  Hamilton,  Chautauqua, 
N.Y. 

Secretary-Treasurer-Trustee — Miss  Amelia  H.  Bum- 
stead,  St.  Petersburg,  Fla. 

Class  1917,  "  Emerson  " 

Motto — "Let  us  know  the  truth." 

Emblem— The  cat-tail. 

President — Mrs.  John  Orr,  Hotel  San  Remo,  New 

York  City. 

Secretary — Mrs.  T.  D.  Samford,  Opelika,  Ala. 
Treasurer — Mr.  Louis  H.  Walden,  Norwich,  Conn. 
Trustee— Mrs.  O.  G.  Franks,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

Class  1918,  "  The  Arthurians  " 

Motto — "Live  pure,  speak  true,  right  the  wrong,  fol- 
low the  King." 

Emblem — The  gladiolus. 

President — Miss  Emma  T.  Mclntyre,  Eustis,  Fla. 

Secretary — Miss  Margaret  M.  Chalmers,  Hagaman, 
N.Y. 

Treasurer-Trustee — Mrs.  Chas.  E.  Rhodes,  507 
Potomac  Ave.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Class  1919,  "  America  " 

Motto — "Peace  and  Democracy." 
Emblem — The  American  Beauty  rose. 
President — Mrs.  S.  E.  Booth,  700  N.  Harrison  Ave., 
Wilmington,  Del. 


APPENDIX  413 

Secretary — Mrs.  Ethel  M.  Vanderburger,  70  Melrose 

St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Trustee— Mrs.  Anna  M.  Fay,  Brocton,  N.  Y. 

Class  1920,  "  The  Optimists  " 

Motto— "Nothing  less  than  the  best." 

Emblem — The  pink  aster. 

President — Dr.  George  Hobbie,  600  Delaware  Ave., 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Treasurer — Miss    Jessie     M.     Leslie,    Chautauqua, 

N.  Y. 
Secretary-Trustee — Mrs.  Chas.  C.  Taylor,  Akron,  O. 

Class  1921,  "  The  Adelphians  " 

Motto — "Omnia  vincit  amor."    "Love  conquers  all." 

Emblem — The  woodbine. 

President — Prof.  Frank  E.  Ewart,  Colgate  University, 

Hamilton,  N.  Y. 
Secretary — Miss  Harriet  Sheldon,  The  Seneca,  Broad 

St.,  Columbus,  O. 
Treasurer-Trustee — Mrs.  Frances  Akin,  Chautauqua, 

N.  Y. 

Class  1922,  "  The  Crusaders  " 

Motto — "Be  not  content  to  read  history,  make  it." 

Emblem — The  oak  leaf. 

President— Mr.  O.  C.  Herrick,  6028  Rodman  St., 
Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Secretary — Miss  Alameda  Edwards,  750  Mt.  Hope 
Road,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Treasurer — Mr.  Robert  Cleland,  5809  Northumber- 
land Ave.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Trustee— Mrs.  Evalyn  Dorman,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 


414  APPENDIX 

Class  1923,  "  The  Victory  " 

Motto— "Victory." 

Emblem— The  poppy.     The  flags  of  the  Allies. 
President — Miss  Elizabeth  Skinner,  Dunedin,  Fla. 
Recording  Secretary — Mrs.   R.   W.   Johnston,    1649 

Shady  Ave.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Corresponding  Secretary — Mrs.  John  W.  Hanna,  803 

Fourth  St.,  Braddock,  Pa. 
Treasurer-Trustee — Mrs.   R.   I.   Park,   Chautauqua, 

N.  Y. 

Class  1924,  "  The  New  Era  " 

Motto — ''Enter  to  learn,  go  forth  to  serve." 
Emblem — The  blue  larkspur  and  the  marigold. 
President — Mrs.  F.  M.  Beacom,  1312  W.  loth  St., 

Wilmington,  Del. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Mrs.  F.  N.  Prechtel,  Cherokee, 

la. 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  CHAUTAUQUA 

N.  B. — The  Sunday  School  Assembly  of  1874  and  1875  was 
held  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  from  the  Sunday  School 
Union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  grounds  at  Fair 
Point  being  owned  by  the  Erie  Conference  Camp  Meeting  As- 
sociation. In  May,  1876,  the  property  was  transferred  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  National  Sunday  School  Assembly. 

THE  FIRST  CHAUTAUQUA  TRUSTEES 
(SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ASSEMBLY) 

C.  Aultman,  Canton,  O. 
A.  Bradley,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Clinton  M.  Ball 


APPENDIX  415 


Frank  C.  Carley,  Louisville,  Ky. 

W.  P.  Cooke 

Adams  Davis,  Corry,  Pa. 

George  W.  Gifford,  Mayville,  N.  Y. 

J.  C.  Gifford,  Westfield,  N.  Y. 

J.  J.  Henderson,  Meadville,  Pa. 

Herman  Jones,  Erie,  Pa. 

C.  L.  Jeffords,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 

Isaac  Moore,  Mayville,  N.  Y. 

Lewis  Miller,  Akron,  O. 

Jacob  Miller,  Canton,  O. 

H.  A.  Massey,  Toronto 

Hiram  A.  Pratt,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

John  W.  Pitts,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 

David  Preston,  Detroit,  Mich. 

F.  H.  Root,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

E.  A.  Skinner,  Westfield,  N.  Y. 

Sardius  Steward,  Ashville,  N.  Y. 

John  H.  Vincent,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

Amos  K.  Warren,  Mayville,  N.  Y. 

W.  W.  Wythe,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 


THE  FIRST  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  CHAUTAUQUA 
INSTITUTION  (1898) 

General  Officers 

John  H.  Vincent,  Chancellor 

W.  H.  Hickman,  President  of  Trustees 

George  E.  Vincent,  Principal  of  Instruction 

Joseph  C.  Neville,  Chairman  Executive  Board 

Ira  M.  Miller,  Secretary 

Scott  Brown,  General  Director 

Warren  F.  Wai  worth,  Treasurer 


4i6  APPENDIX 

Trustees 

Noah  P.  Clark,  Oil  City,  Pa. 

William  J.  Cornell,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

W.  A.  Duncan,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

E.  G.  Dusenbury,  Portville,  N.  Y. 
C.  D.  Firestone,  Columbus,  O. 
James  M.  Guffey,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
W.  H.  Hickman,  Greencastle,  Ind. 
Frank  W.  Higgins,  Olean,  N.  Y. 

J.  Franklin  Hunt,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Frederick  W.  Hyde,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 
Julius  King,  Cleveland,  O. 
Chester  D.  Massey,  Toronto,  Canada 
Ira  M.  Miller,  Akron,  O. 
Joseph  C.  Neville,  Chicago,  111. 
S.  Fred.  Nixon,  Westfield,  N.  Y. 
Frank  M.  Potter,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 

F.  H.  Rockwell,  Warren,  Pa. 
A.  M.  Schoyer,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
W.  H.  Shortt,  Youngsville,  Pa. 
Clement  Studebaker,  South  Bend,  Ind. 
William  Thomas,  Meadville,  Pa. 
George  E.  Vincent,  Chicago,  111. 
Warren  F.  Walworth,  Cleveland,  O. 

Local  Officers 

George  W.  Rowland,  Superintendent 
William  G.  Bissell,  M.D.,  Health  Officer 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES— 1920 

Arthur   E.   Bestor,    Chautauqua,    N.    Y.,    President 

Chautauqua  Institution 
ErnestCawcroft,  48  Fenton  Building,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 


APPENDIX  417 

Noah  F.   Clark,   803   Magee  Building,   Pittsburgh, 

Pa. 
Melvil  Dewey,  President  Lake  Placid  Club,  Essex  Co., 

N.  Y. 
George  W.  Gerwig,  Secretary  Board  of  Education, 

Pittsburgh. 

E.  Snell  Hall,  127  Forest  Ave.,  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 
Louis  J.  Harter,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. 
Fred  W.  Hyde,  American  Bankers  Association,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

J.  C.  McDowell,  1321  Farmers  Bank  Building,  Pitts- 
burgh. 
Vincent    Massey,    Massey    Harris    Company,    Ltd., 

Toronto,  Canada. 
Shailer  Mathews,  Dean  Divinity  School,  University  of 

Chicago. 

Ira  M.  Miller,  Akron,  O. 
Mrs.  Robert  A.  Miller,  17  West  45th  St.,  New  York 

City. 

S.  I.  Munger,  Dallas,  Tex. 
Mrs.  Percy  V.  Penny  backer,  0606  Whitis  Ave.,  Austin, 

Tex. 

Frank  M.  Potter,  Mayville,  N.  Y. 
William    L.    Ransom,    120    Broadway,    New  York 

City. 

A.  M.  Schoyer,  Pennsylvania  Lines,  Pittsburgh 
Alburn  E.  Skinner,  Warren-Nash  Motor  Company,  18 

West  63rd  St.,  New  York  City 
Clement  Studebaker,  Jr.,  South  Bend,  Ind. 
H.  A.  Truesdale,  Conneaut,  O. 
George  E.  Vincent,  President  Rockefeller  Foundation, 

6 1  Broadway,  New  York  City. 
Charles  E.   Welch,   Welch  Grape  Juice  Company, 

Westfield,  N.  Y. 

a? 


4i8  APPENDIX 

Honorary  Trustees 

Scott  Brown,  208  South  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 

E.  G.  Dusenbury,  Portville,  N.  Y. 

George  Greer,  New  Castle,  Pa. 

W.  H.  Hickman,  Montpelier,  Ind. 

Julius  King,  Julius  King  Optical  Company,  Cleve- 
land, O. 

Chester  D.  Massey,  519  Jarvis  St.,  Toronto, 
Canada. 

Z.  L.  White,  Columbus,  O. 

Educational  Council 

Lyman  Abbott,  Editor  Outlook,  New  York  City. 
Jane  Addams,  Hull  House,  Chicago. 
Percy  H.  Boynton,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago. 
Frank  Chapin  Bray,  League  of  Nations  Union,  New 

York  City. 
John  Graham  Brooks,  8  Francis  Ave.,  Cambridge, 

Mass. 
Elmer  E.  Brown,  Chancellor  New  York  University, 

New  York  City. 
Richard  T.  Ely,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison, 

Wis. 

W.  H.  P.  Faunce,  President  Brown  University,  Provi- 
dence, R.  I. 
J.  M.  Gibson,  Linnell   Close,   Hampstead  Gardens, 

London,  England. 
Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  President  Armour  Institute, 

Chicago. 
G.     Stanley     Hall,     President     Clark    University, 

Worcester,  Mass. 
Jesse  L.  Hurlbut,  74  Park  Ave.,  Bloomfield,  N.  J. 


APPENDIX  419 

F.  G.Peabody,  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Sir  George  Adam  Smith,  Principal  Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity, Aberdeen,  Scotland. 

Charles  David  Williams,  Bishop  of  Michigan,  Detroit, 
Mich. 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Lyman,  x,  83,  84,  130, 

211,  240 

Abbott,  E.  H.f  310 
Aberdeen,  Lord  and  Lady,  273 
Ackerman,  Miss  J.  T.t  270 
Adams,  B.  M.,  208 
Adams,  H.  B.,  240,  264 
Adams,  Thomas,  341 
Addams,  Jane,  263 , 274, 281 , 302 
Ainslee,  Peter,  331 
Aked,C.F.,269,303,3i6 
Alden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  R.,  71, 

108,  181,  235 
Alden,  Joseph,  162 
Alden,  Percy,  272,  307 
Alden,  R.  M.,  182 
Alger,  G.  W.,  334 
Alger,  R.  A.,  235 
Alumni  Hall,  247 
Amphitheater,  100,  163,  253 
Anderson,  W.  G.,  229,  240 
Andrews,  E.  B.,  284 
Angell,  Norman,  333 
Anthony,  Susan  B.,  250,  280 
Antin,  Mary,  333 
Ark,  The,  79 
Arts  and  Crafts,  288,  308 
Athletic  Club,  257 
Atkinson,  G.  W.,  viii,  279 
Auditorium,  the  old,  40 
Aula  Christi,  281 
Automobiles,  33 
Axson,  Stockton,  310 

Babbitt,  Dean  R.,  290 
Bailey,  H.  T.,  288,  299,  301, 

315.  341 

Bailey,  Major-General,  354 
Bailey,  M.  M.,  78 
Bain,  G.  W.,  235,  284 


Bainbridge,  W.  S.,  330 

Baird,  A.  J.,  84 

Baker,  Mrs.  Bertha  K.,  272, 

283,  294,  298 
Bangs,  J.  K.,274,  279 
Baptist  Headquarters,  266 
Barnard,  Charles,  80 
Barnes,   Earl,  310,  315,   322, 

342,  354  T 

Barrows,  J.  H.,  240,  267 
Barton,  J.  L.,  348 
Bass,  Mrs.  George,  360 
Bay  View  Assembly,  364 
Beard,  Frank, 41, 42, 8 1, 84,  85, 

86,  103,  167,  206,  231,  287, 

370 
Beard,   Mrs.   Helen,   68,   231, 

328,  358 

Beaver,  J.  A.,  264,  307 
Beecher,  T.  K.,  85,  86 
Beecher,  W.  J.,  230 
Beginnings  of  Chautauqua,  38 
Bellamy,  G.  A.,  341 
Benfey,  Ida,  267 
Bengough,  322 
Bestor,  A.  E.,  298,  301,  312, 

315,  3i6,  322,  332,  342,  345, 

349,  382 

Bird  and  Tree  Club,  2C  i 
Birney,  Mrs.  T.  W.,  261 
Bisbee,  May  M.,  113 
Bishop,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  294 
Bishop,  I.  P.,  290 
Black,  Hugh,  293,  313 
Black,  John  C.,  287 
Blackburn,  W.  M.,  207 
Blichfeldt,  E.  H.,  329 
Bliss,  P.  P.,  82,  86 
Boarding  houses,  99 
Bolin,  Jacob,  gymnasium,  344 


421 


422 


INDEX 


Bolton,  C.  E.  and  S.  K.,  210 

Boole,  Mrs.  E.  A.,  346 

Booth,  Ballington,  252,  271 

Booth,  Maud  Ballington,  252, 
271 

Booth-Tucker,  Emma,  289 

Booth-Tucker,  Frederick,  289 

Bose,  R.  C.,  181,221 

Boston  Society  for  Encourage- 
ment of  Home  Study,  119 

Bowne,  B.  P.,  181 

Bowker,  R.  R., 

Boyesen,  H.  H.,  xv,  240 

Boynton,  G.  M.,  293 

Boynton,  P.  F.,  289, 336 

Boys'  club,  259 

Bradford,  A.  H.,  274 

Bray,  F,  C.,  274 

Brent,  Bishop,  355 

Broadus,  J.  A.,  234 

Brooks,  J.  G.,  xii,  300,  302 

Brooks,  Phillips,  xvii,  235 

Brown,  C.  R.,  336 

Brown,  J.  W., 

Brown,  Mrs.  Kenneth,  347 

Brown,  Mrs.  M.  M.,  62 

Brown,  Scott,  281 

Bruce,  Wallace,  207 

Bruch,  Mrs.  Kate  P.,  24 

Brule,  fitienne,  7 

Bryan,  E.  B.,  335,  343,  346, 388 

Bryan,  W.J.,ix,  302,  317 

Bryant,  W.  C.,  132 

Bryce,  James,  ix,  312 

Buckley,  J.  M.,  55,  no,  164, 
296 

Burbank,  A.  P.,  243 

Burdette,  R.  J.,  246 

Burr,  C.  F.,  83 

Burt,  Bishop,  341 

Burton,  Richard,  291,  298, 310, 

_  324,  359^ 
Butler,  J.  W.,  221 
Butler,  N.  M.,  269 


Cable,  G.  W.,  243,  272 
Cadman,  S.  P.,  269,  280,  293, 

Carder,  W.  M.,  336 
Campbell,  R.  J.,  291 


Camp  fire,  192 

Camp  meetings,  22,  29 

Carleton,    W.    M.,    230,    267, 

274 

Carlson,  G.  A.,  333 
Carpenter,  F.  G.,  263 
Carroll,  Mitchell,  341,  347 
Case,  C.  C.,  68,  89 
Catt,  Mrs.  C.  C.,  280,  346 
Celdron,  Bienville  de,  8 
Centennial,  National,  72,  85 
Chafin,  E.  W.,  317 
Chamberlin,  Miss  G.  L.,  330 
Chanler,  Lieut.  Governor,  306 
Chart,  Mrs.  L.  O.,  283 
Chapel,  the  old,  101 
Chapman,  J.  W.,  293,  307,  313 
Chautauqua  Assembly,  20,  28 ; 
catholicity  of,  33;  club  life, 
253;  expansion  of,  63;  gate 
fee,    30;   incorporation,   90; 
restrictions,  254;  salute,  112; 
songs,  106,  201;  Sunday  at, 

30.  3i 
Chautauqua      Educational 

Council,  262,  418 
Chautauqua  Foreign  Tour,  221 
Chautauqua  Institution,  286 
Chautauqua  Lake,  3-10 
Chautauqua  Literary  and  Sci- 
entific      Circle,       116-137; 
Alumni  Hall,   247;  banner, 
200;    camp   fire,    156,    377; 
class    buildings,    223;    class 
names,  154;  course  of  read- 
ing, 150;  examinations,  150; 
flag,  199;  mottoes,  154;  prob- 
lems, 169;  recognition  day, 
196;  seals,  152;  stories,  209 
Chautauqua  Press,  274 
Chautauqua   University,    227, 

252 

Chautauquan,  The,  181 
Chentung  Lieng  Chang,  300 
Children  at  Chautauqua,  259 
Children's  Hour,  87,  139 
Children's  Temple,  139 
Chime  of  Bells,  224 
Chittenden,  Miss  A.  H.,  319 
Christian  Ethics  Society,  194 


INDEX 


423 


Chubb,  E.  W., 

Church  doctrines,  138 

Churchill,  J.  W.,  167 

Civil  War  veterans,  231 

Clark,  F.  E.,  246,  293 

Clark,  S.   H.,  264,   267,   272, 

284,  294,  298,  346 
Club  Life  at  Chautauqua,  253 
Clear  Lake  Assembly,  365 
Clews,  Henry,  302 
Cobern,  C.  M.,  306 
Coburn,  C.  D.,  319 
Cody,  H.  J.,  319 
Coe,  G.  A.,  310 
Colby,  Everett,  306 
Coif  ax,  Schuyler,  181 
Cole,  Mrs.  Ida  B.,  190 
College  building,  233,  308 
College  Men's  club,  262 
College  of  Liberal  Arts,  235 
College  Women's  club,  262 
Colonnade  building,  298,  304 
Colquitt,  A.  H.,  137 
Comprehensive  plan,  350 
Comstock,  Anthony,  101,  264 
Conwell,  R.  H.,  229,  241,  264, 

269,  311 

Cook,  A.  S.,  xiii,  266 
Cook,  Joseph,  xvii,   109,  138, 

167,  235,  264,  367 
Cooke,  E.  V.,  315 
Cooke,  G.  W.,  291 
Cope,  H.  F.,  310 
Co  wen,  C.  A.,  354 
Crafts,  W.  F.,  108,  362 
Crawford,  W.  H.,  265,  284 
Croquet  at  Chautauqua,  257 
Crosby,  Howard,  131 
Crothers,  S.  M.,  303,  312,  323 
Cumnock,  R.  L.,  211,  231,  236, 

243 

Daily  Assembly  Herald,  78 
Davis,  Katharine  B.,  334,  353 
Davis,  O.  S.,  360 
Dawson,  W.  J.,  299 
Deems,  55,  in,  131,  227,  369 
DeGrott,  E.  B.,  302 
Democracy    at    Chautauqua, 
189 


Denominational  houses,  174 
Denominations    at    Chautau- 
qua, 33 

Devotional  Hour,  207,  292 
Dewey,  Melvil,  283,  302 
Dickinson,  J.  W.,  161 
Dining  Hall,  the  old,  39 
Disciples  House,  286 
Domestic  Science,  271 
Dorchester,  Daniel,  293 
Doremus,  R.  O.,  74 
Downes,  Olin,  324 
Downey,  Mary  E.,  283,  329 
Draper,  A.  S.,  310 
Drummond,  Henry,  262 
Dugmore,  A.  R.,  339 
Duncan,  W.  Aver,  85 
Dunning,  A.  E.,  187,  287,  383 
Duryea,  J.  E.,  214 

Eastern  Star,  order  of,  262 
Eastman,  C.  A.,  356 
Eaton,  John  B.,  274 
Eberhardt,  A.  O.,  ix 
Edison,  T.  A.,  75 
Eggleston,  Edward,  263 
Eliot,  C.  W.,  270 
Eliot,  S.  A.,  310 
Ellsworth,  W.  W.,  352 
Ely,  R.  T.,  274 
Esperanto,  311 
Ewing,  Mrs.  E.  P.,  210,  271 
Excell,  E.  O.,  221 
Expression,  school  of,  264 

Fairbairn,  xiv,  221,  234,  246, 

267,  279 

Fair  Point,  10,  23,  58 
Fallows,  Bishop,  310 
Faunce,  W.  H.  P.,  274,  279,  311 
Fenton  Memorial  Home,  341 
Ferguson,  John,  353 
Fife,  R.  H.,  347 
Finley,J.H.,27i,357 
Fires  at  Chautauqua,  245, 304 
Fisk  Jubilee  Singers,  181,  188 
Fiske,  John,  250,  267,  279 
Fletcher,  Horace,  277 
Flood,  T.  L.,  69,  78,  181 
Flood  and  Vincent,  245 


424 


INDEX 


Flower  girls,  199 
Flude,  G.  L.,  389 
Folk,  J.  W.,  298 
Forbush,  Byron,  301 
Ford  Peace  Expedition,  335 
Foreign  Mission  Institute,  163 
Foreign  Tour,  210 
Fosdick,  H.  E.,  340 
Foss,  Bishop,  227,  241 
Foster,  Bishop,  138,  167 
Founders  of  Chautauqua,  1 1 
Fowler,  Bishop,  55, 138, 167 
Fox,  John,  274 
Fraser,  Helen,  346 
French  Military  Band,  345 
French  Road,  8 
Frost,  W.  G.f  290 

Galloway,  Bishop,  279 
Garfield,  President,  182 
Garghill,  Isabel,  274 
Garland,  D.  R.,  341 
Garland,  Hamlin,  291 
Garire,  A.  £.,358 
Gates,  M.  E.,  252 
Gavazzi,  Alessandro,  187 
George,  W.  R.,  302 
Ghost  Walk,  the,  185 
Gibbons,  H.  A.,  333,  342,  359 
Gibson,  H.  M.,  251 
Gifford,  O.  P.,  283 
Gilbert,  J.  E.,  373 

Gilkey,C.W.,334,347 
Gillet,  A.  H.,  381 
Gilman,  Arthur,  131 
Gilmore,  J.  H.,  180 
Girls'  club,  252,  286 
Gladden,     Washington,     180, 

240,  331 

Glover,  T.  R.,  359 
Golden  Gate,  198,  205 
Golf  club,  257 
Golf  course,  331 
Goodsell,  Bishop,  187,  274 
Gordan,  G.  A.,  269 
Gordon,  J.  B.,  267,  291 
Gottheil,  Gustave,  249 
Goucher,  J.  F.,  271 
Gough,  J.  B.,  55,  102,  108 
Grange  Building,  261,  289 


Grant,  President,  14,  69 

Graves,  J.  T.,  263,  290 

Greek  play,  326 

Green's  Short  History,  134,  152 

Greene,  S.  L.f  in 

Grieve,  A.  J.,  358 

Griffith,  Sanford,  330,  334,  342 

Griggs,  E.  H.,  xii,  280,  291, 

294,  300,  306,  312,  329,  336, 

346 

Gronow,  H.  E.,  330 
Grouetch,  Mrs.  M.  S.,  354 
Guernsey,  Mrs.  G.  T.,  346 
Guest  House,  the,  79 
Gunsaulus,  F.   W.,  235,  240, 

251,  269,  315 

Habberton,  John,  246 

Hale,  Edward  E.,  xvi,  80,  118, 

152,  176,  187,  213,  227,  229, 

235,  264,  265,  267,  279,  284 
Hale,  Mrs.  F.  R.,  355 
Hall,  C.  C.,  298 
Hall,  G.  S.,  267,  271,  302 
Hall,  John,  230 
Hall,  J.  M.,  365 
Hall,  J.  P.,  334 
Hall  of  the  Christ,  281 
Hall  of  Pedagogy,  273 
Hall  of  Philosophy,  168,  288, 

292 

Hallam,  Alfred,  288,  357 
Halstead,  Murat,  274 
Hancock,  John,  162 
Hanna,  Mark,  286 
Hapgood,  Norman,  305 
Hard,  C.  P.,  53 
Hargrove,  Bishop,  84 
Harper,  Mrs.  I.  H.,  319 
Harper,  P.  V.,  266 
Harper,  W.  R.,  210,  235,  238, 

241,267,269,271,287,312 
Harrington,  C.  L.,  314 
Harris,  W.  T.,  xiii,  207, 270,  291 
Hart,  A.  B.,  279 
Hatfield,  R.  M.,  138 
Haven,  Bishop,  55 
Hay,  Miss  M.  G.,  360 
Hayes,  H.  G.,  359 
Hayes,  Maud,  348 


INDEX 


425 


Hayes,  President,  240 
Hazard,  M.  C.,  85 
Hazeltine,  Mary  E.,  283 
Hearst,  Mrs.  Phebe  A.,  268 
Henderson,  C.  R.,  234,  322 
Henson,  P.  S.,  1 10, 310 
Herbert,  Victor,  328 
Hibben,  J.  G.,  336 
Hickman,  W.  H.,  331 
Higgins  Hall,  266 
Hill,  A.  C.,  323 
Hillis,  N.  D.,  299 
Hobson,  R.  P.,  283 
Hodge,  A.  A.,  130,  167 
Hodge,  R.  M.,  310 
Hodges,  George,  315 
Holborn,  J.  S.,  326,  349 
Holmes,  R.  S.,  185,  226 
Home,  Silvester,  316 
Horr,  R.  G.,  234,  263 
Hospital,  the,  316 
Hospitality  House,  261 
Hoss,  Bishop,  315 
Hotel  Athenaeum,  172 
Hough,  L.  H.,  323,  359 
Howard,  O.  O.,  181,  265 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  xviii 
Hughes,  C.  E.,  302 
Hughes,  Bishop  E.  H.,  346 
Hulbert,  A.  B.,  309 
Hull,  Mrs.J.  C.,22i 
Hulley,  Lincoln,  280,  327 
Hurlbut,  J.  L.,  64,  278,  327, 

347,  357.  374 
Hurst,  Bishop,  55 
Hvebelianovich,      Lazarovich, 

325 

Hyde,  W.  D.,  271 
Hydroplane    at    Chautauqua, 

326 
Hymn  of  Greeting,  105 

Illuminated  Fleet,  85 
International      Lyceum      and 
Chautauqua        Association, 

33L  385 
Island  Park  Assembly,  381 

Jacobs,  W-  S.,  348 
James,  Bishop,  55 


amestown,  9 
ay,  John,  246 

efferson,  C.  E.,  274,  279,  310 
efferson,  Joseph,  284 
erome,  W.  T.,  298 
erusalem,  model  of,  66 
ewett  Home,  229 
ohnson,  R.  M.,  241 
ones,  S.  P.,  234 
ordan,  D.  S.,  318 
oslin,  J.  L.,  293 
ournalism,  school  of,  246 
uvenile  problems,  301 

Keen,  W.  W.,  181 
Keller,  Helen,  265 
Kellogg,  J.  H.,  239 
Kennedy,  C.  R.,  334 
Kent,  C.  F.f  330 
Kidd,  Thomas,  290 
Kimball,  Kate  P.,  146 
Kindergarten,  179 
King,  H.  C.,  280 
Knox,  W.  E.,  84 
Kraus-Boelte,  Mme.,  179 
Kriege,  Mme.,  67 

Labor  movement,  287 
La  Follette,  R.  M.,  291,  389 
Lake  Bluff  Assembly,  367 
Lakeside  Assembly,  366 
Language  clubs,  260 
Languages,  school  of,  160 
La  Salle,  R.  R.,  7 
Lathbury,  Mary  A.,  105,  128, 

20 1,  202 

Lattimore,  the  Misses,  137 
Lavell,  C.  F.,  300, 307 
Lawyers'  club,  261 
League  of  Nations,  353 
Lee,  J.  W.,  230 
Lees,  G.  R.,  331 
Lemon,  J.  B.,  313 
Library  school,  283 
Lindsay,  Vachel,  349 
Lindsey,  B.  B.,  302 
Liquor  Problem,  the,  289 
Little,  C.  J.,  210,  221,  234 
Livermore,  Mary  A.,  77,  229, 

250 


426 


INDEX 


Lord,  John,  138,  167 
Lore,  C.  B.,  290 
Lutheran  House,  280 

Mabie,  H.  W.,  246,  334 

MacArthur,  R.  S.,  xvi,  284,  307 

MacGerald,  Samuel,  53 

McCabe,  Bishop,  234,  271 

McClintock,  Belle,  221 

McClintock,  W.  D.,  187 

McClure,  S.  S.,  310 

McClure,  W.  F.,  348 

McConnell,  Bishop,  333,  349 

McCormick,  S.  B.,  333,  360 

McDowell,  Bishop,  303,  320, 
360 

McFadyen,  J.  E.,  305 

McFarlandJ.T.,  299 

McGlynn,  Edward,  249 

Mclntyre,  Bishop,  274 

McKenzie,  A.,  246 

McKinley,  President,  267 

McLean,  Mrs.  Donald,  300 

McMaster,  J.  B.,  250 

McNeill,  John,  284 

Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  240 

Manual  training,  283 

Masey  organ,  the,  253 

Mather,  Mary  M.,  252 

Mathews,  Shatter,  269,  303, 
3i6,  327,  348,  360 

Mayville,  9 

Means,  J.  O.,  181 

Men's  club,  the,  254 

Meredith,  R.  R.,  181 

Merrill,  W.  P.,  353 

Methodist  House,  237 

Meyer,  Mrs.  L.  R.,  106 

Milburn,  W.  H.,  229 

Miller,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  62,  108,  256 

Miller,  H.  A.,  355 

Miller,  J.  D.,  265 

Miller,  Lewis,  birth  and  educa- 
tion, 18;  business  training, 
18;  inventions,  19;  home  at 
Akron,  19;  normal  class,  19; 
meeting  with  Dr.  Vincent, 
20;  visit  to  Chautauqua 
Lake,  24;  cottage  at  Chau- 
tauqua, 41;  location  of  As- 


sembly, 57;  Children's  Tem- 
ple, 139;  work  at  Chautau- 
qua, 141 ;  plans  for  C.L.S.C., 
170;  building  the  hotel,  173; 
illness  and  death,  275;  me- 
morial salute,  112,  356; 
Memorial  Tower,  313 

Miller  Park,  196 

Miller,  Theodore,  276 

Milner,  D.  C.,  192,  377 

Miner,  Maud,  324,  352 

Mineral  spring,  256 

Minton,  T.  M.,  348 

Mitchel,  J.  P.,  329 

Mitchell,  Bishop,  342 

Mitchell,  D.  G.,  240 

Mitchell,  John,  287,  322 

Mob  spirit,  the,  290 

Moffatt,  J.  D.,  307 

Monona  Lake  Assembly,  382 

Montgomery,  Mrs.  H.  B.,  360 

Moore,  H.  H.,  222 

Moore,  R.  W.,  314 

Moran,  T.  F.,  352 

Mothers'  congress,  267 

Moulton,  J.  H.,  330 

Moulton,  R.  G.,  264,  267,  284, 
291 

Moxom,  P.  D.,  263 

Munger,  S.  F.,  257 

Murphy,  Francis,  101 

Music,  89 

Music  club,  261 

Music,  school  of,  244 

National  Congress  of  Mothers, 
267 

National  Education  Associa- 
tion, 178 

Nearing,  Scott,  319,  321 

New  England  Assembly,  383 

Newman,  Bishop,  227 

Newton,  Richard,  85 

New  York  Symphony  Orches- 
tra, 354,  358 

Ng  Poon  Chew,  325 

Niles,  W.  H.,  207 

Normal  Alumni,  108 

Normal  class,  51,  67,  209 

Normal  examination,  53,  84 


INDEX 


427 


Ocean  Grove  Assembly,  379 

Octogenarians'  club,  262 

Odell,  B.  B.,  284 

Officers  of  First  Assembly,  38 

Oldham,  Bishop,  287,  293 

O'Neill,  J.  D.,  334 

Opening  service,  49 

Oriental  museum,  231 

Origin  of  name  Chautauqua, 

Osborne,  Dennis,  221 
Osborne,  T.  M.,  334 
Ottawa    (Kansas)    Assembly, 
373 


Pacific  Grove  Assembly,  380 
Page,  T.  N.,  246 
Pageant  of  the  Past,  311 
Palace  Hotel,  the,  99,  174 
Palestine,  early  model  of,  13 
Palestine  Park,  46,  170,  255 
Palmer,  Mrs.  Alice  F.,  xv,  246, 

263 

Palmer,  A.  J.,  222,  263 
Palmer,  A.  M.,  354 
Palmer,  G.  H.,  263 
Palmer,  H.  R.,  251 
"Pansy"  (Mrs.  G.  R.  Alden), 

71 

Pansy  class,  235 
Papot,  Benedict,  330 
Parker,  F.  W.,  xiv,  248 
Parry,  D.  M.,  290 
Pattison,  R.  E.,  222 
Pavilion,  the,  124 
Payne,  C.  H.,  86 
Peabody,  F.  G.,  260,  267 
Pearse,  M.  G.,  234 
Peary,  R.  E.,  341 
Peary,  Mrs.  R.  E.,  269 
Peck,  Bishop,  85 
Pedagogy,  hall  of,  273 
Pedagogy,  school  of,  248 
Pennypacker,  Mrs.  P.  V.,  256, 

287  325.  340,  346 
Percival,  Rev.  Dr.,  250 
Perrine,  W.  H.,  171,364 
Perry,  Bliss,  280 
Phelps,  W.  P.,  162 
Phillips,  Philip,  104 


Pickett,  Mrs.  General,  303 

Pier  building,  228 

Playgrounds,  259 

Point  Chautauqua,  94 

Pond,  J.  B.,  267 

Powers,  H.  H.,  315,  318,  322 

Powers,  Leland,  243,  274,  284, 

298 

Post  office  building,  308 
Potter,  Bishop,  302 
Prendergast,  W.  H.,  317 
Presbrey,  O.  F.,  70 
Presbyterian  House,  245 
Presidents  at  Chautauqua,  x 
Press  club,  261 
Procession,  Recognition  Day, 

204 

Ragan,  H.  H.,  221 
Ramsay,  William,  312 
Randolph,  Warren,  83 
Ransom,  W.  L.,  334 
Raymond,  A.  V.  V.,  xii 
Raymond,  C.  R.,  331 
Recognition    Day,    the    first, 

196 
Religious  teaching,  school  of, 

278 

Repplier,  Agnes,  249 
Review  of  Reviews,  xi 
Rhees,  Rush,  298 
Rice,  W.  M.,  138 
Richards,  W.  C.,  210 
Richardson,  C.  F.,  187 
Riddle,  George,  231,  236,  243, 

307 

Riis,  J.  A.,  250,  272,  296,  315 
Robins,  Raymond,  289,  336 
Robinson,  Mrs.  Douglas,  359 
Rockefeller,  J.  D.,  351 
Roman  year,  the,  225 
Roosevelt,   President,   x,   247, 

258,  264,  276,  295,  316 
Rose,  H.  R.,  315 
Roselli,  Bruno,  347 
Ross,  G.  A.  J.,  313 
Round  Lake  Assembly,  44,  45, 

r>37<? 

Russian  symphony  orchestra, 

335,  337,  341 


428 


INDEX 


Sadler,  C.,  53 

St.  Paul's  Grove,  137 

Sanders,  P.  R.,  310 

Sanders,  H.  M.,  82 

Sargent,  F.  P.,  287 

Schaff,  Philip,  188 

Schmucker,  S.  C.,  299,  315 

Schurman,  J.  G.,  251 

Scientific  Conference,  73 

Seton,  E.  T.,  300 

Sewer  system,  255 

Shaw,  Anna  H.,  250,  271, 346 

Shedlock,  Miss  M.  L.,  294 

Sheldon,  C.  M.,  xvi 

Sherwin,  W.  F.,  41,  68,  202 

Sherwood,  244,  316 

Signal  Fires,  299 

Simpson,  Bishop,  55 

Simpson,  W.  O.,  165 

Slosson,  E.  E.,  xi,  336 

Smith,  F.  H.,  299 

Smith,  G.  A.,  269,  279,  294 

Smith,  S.  S.,  221 

Snowden,    Mrs.    Philip,    306, 

312 

Snyder,  Jacob,  20 
Socialism,  321 
Social  unrest,  302 
Somerset,  Lady  Henry,  264 
Southwick,  H.  L.,  294 
Southwick,  Mrs.  J.  E.,  272 
Sparks,  E.  E.,  309 
Spouting  tree,  99 
Stagg,  A.  A.,  238 
Standard  Oil  Co.,  180 
Standards  of  Time,  59 
Stanley,  F.  G.,  293 
Starr,  Frederick,  240,  294 
Steamboats,  58 
Steiner,  E.  A.,  300 
Stelzle,  Charles,  302,  307 
Stevens,  Lillian  M.  N.,  290 
Stokes,  J.  G.  P.,  302 
Stokes,  Rose  P.,  302,  322 
Stone,  J.  T.,  316 
Street,  J.  R.,  278 
Streets  at  Chautauqua,  91 
Strong,  James,  125 
Strong,  Josiah,  267 
Stuart,  E.  G.,  307 


Stuntz,  Bishop,  293 
Summer  schools,  162 
Sunday  at  Chautauqua,  55,  56 
Sunday  school  lessons,  16,  278 
Sunday  school  normal  depart- 
ment, 17,  88,  195 
Sunday  school  parliament,  362 
Sunday  school  union,  28 
Swing,  David,  241 
Symphony  orchestra,  309,  312, 
335,  337,  341,  354,  35® 

Taft,  President,  294 
Talmage,   T.   DeW.,  55,  207, 

235 

Tanner,  Corporal,  240 
Tarbell,  Ida,  339 
Taylor,  Alfred,  81 
Taylor,  Graham,  264,  272,  280 
Taylor,  R.  L.,  276 
Taylor,  Bishop,  236 
Teacher's  retreat,  161 
Temperance  Congress,  76 
Tennesseans,  the,  221 
Testimonies    to    Chautauqua, 

vii-xix 

Thirkield,  Bishop,  274 
Thobrom,  Bishop,  281 
Thobrom,  J.  M.,  Jr.,  310 
Ticket  system,  96 
Tiffany,  O.  H.,  86 
Tourgee,  A.  W.,  210 
Tourjee,  Eben,  68 
Towle,  G.  M.,  221 
Townsend,  L.  T.,  85,  130 
Traction  station,  343 
Truett,  G.  W.,  331 
Trumbull,  H.  C.,  55 
Tuthill,  Miss,  221 
Tyler,  M.  C.,  280 

Underbill,  C.  P.,  236,  274 
Union  class  building,  223 
Unitarian  House,  286 
United    Presbyterian    Chapel, 
248 

Vail,  A.  D.,  198,  207 
Vail,  S.  M.,  67,  154 
Vanderlip,  F.  A.,  315 


INDEX 


429 


Van  Lennep,  A.  O.f  83 

Vesper  service,  168 

Vigil,  the,  193 

Vincent,  B.  T.,  87,  357,  366 

Vincent  Mrs.  Ella,  256,  340, 

358 

Vincent,  G.  E.,  24,  227,  237, 
272,  281,  300-302,  309,  315, 

324,  332,  335,  343 

Vincent,  Mrs.  G.  E.,  344 

Vincent,  H.  B.,  323 

Vincent,  Bishop  J.  H.,  ances- 
tors, n;  birthplace,  12; 
marriage,  14;  first  visit  to 
Chautauqua,  24;  consecrated 
bishop,  237;  Episcopal  resi- 
dence, 272;  visit  at  Chautau- 
qua, 284;  retirement,  286; 
cablegram,  288;  lectures, 
300,  303,  305;  sermon,  327; 
last  visit,  343 ;  his  death,  355 ; 
memorial  service,  357 

Vincent,  L.  H.,  207,  236,  246, 

274,299,307,319,348 
Vitale,  Giuseppe,  188 
Von  Hoist,  Herman,  264 
Von  Suttner,  Baroness,  318 
Votan,  C.  W.,  310 

War,  the  Great,  321,  338 
Wadsworth,  James,  302 
Wallace,  Chancellor,  278 
Wallace,  Lew,  230 
Ward,  E.  J.,  333 
Ward,  Mrs.  L.  A.,  336 
Ward,  W.  H.,  187 
Warren,  Bishop,  55,  83,  167, 

204 

Warren,  W.  P.,  132,  230 
Washington,  B.  T.,  269, 310 
Watchorn,  Robert,  298 
Watkinson,  W.  L.,  305 
Wattles,  J.  D.,  83 
Wayland,  H.  L.,  246 
Weigle,  L.  A.,  346, 353, 358 


Welch,  Bishop,  298,  311,  357 
Wendling,  J.  W.,  167 
Wheeler,  A.  M.,  227 
Wheeler,  B.  I.,  280 
White,  A.  D.,  251 
Whitman,  C.  S.,  336 
Whittier,  J.  G.,  xviii 
Why  and  Wherefore,  vii-xix 
Wickersham,  G.  W.,  317,  339 
Wiggin,  Mrs.  Kate  D.,  263 
Wilcox,  Mrs.  F.  B.,  257 
Wiley,  H.  W.,  305 
Wilkinson,  W.  C.,  125 
Willard,  Miss  Frances  E.,  76, 

250,  264 

Willett,  H.  L.,3ii 
Willetts,  A.  A.,  1 88 
Williams,    Bishop,    280,    298, 

313,  323,  341 
Willing,  Mrs.  J.  F. 
Wilson,  Francis,  281,  312 
Winchester,  C.  T.f  229,  266, 

279 

Wines,  F.  H.,  290 
Winter,  Mrs.  T.  G.,  360 
Wirt,  Lincoln,  333 
Wishart,  C.  F.,  322,  331,  352 
Woelfkin,  Cornelius,  359 
Wolsey,  Louis,  359 
Woman's    Christian    Temper- 
ance Union,  61, 178,  222 
Woman's  club,  the,  256 
Woman  suffrage,  319 
Women  at  Chautauqua,  77 
Woodruff,  G.  W.,  84 
Worden,  j.  A.,  70,  84,  86,  365 
Wright,  C.  D.,  264,  267 
Yale  Glee  Club,  221 
Young,  J.  B.,  221 
Young  woman's  camp,  344 
Young  woman's  club,  259 
Youth's  C.L.S.C.  Paper,  221 

Zeublin,  Charles,  287,  358 
Zionism,  354 


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